Systems and methods for creating and managing breakout sessions for a conference session

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for creating, monitoring, and managing a breakout conference for a conference call are disclosed. The methods determine topics for breakout rooms and their complexity scores. A breakout room is created for the topics, including separate breakout rooms for complex topics. An expertise score based on a plurality of factors for each device associated with a participant is also calculated. Devices are assigned to separate breakout rooms based on either just the expertise score or if the expertise score meets the threshold of the complexity score. Performance within the breakout rooms is displayed in real-time, such as in a graph. A moderator schedule is generated based the performance within the breakout rooms, where priority is given to a breakout room that has a negative performance over a breakout room with a positive performance.

FIELD OF INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to creating, monitoring,moderating, and managing breakout conference sessions for a mainconference. They also relate to assigning devices to breakout sessionsand automatically joining the assigned devices into and out of thebreakout sessions.

BACKGROUND

Conference calls have become the backbone of a collaborative workplace,and when used properly, increase productivity and efficiency by allowinga group of individuals to discuss various topics and develop solutionsfor moving forward in their respective roles and projects. They arefrequently used by individuals, groups, associations, government,educational institutions, and employees of various organizations. Theyare especially useful when the collaboration occurs among people who aregeographically separated from one another and between employees thatwork remotely thereby alleviating or minimizing the need to meetphysically for discussing a topic that can be discussed over aconference call. In more recent times, there has been an explosion ofconference call activity, especially during the 2019-2021 years of theCovid-19 pandemic, during which a mass number of individuals worked fromhome or worked remotely and had the need to connect with theircolleagues over a conference call to accomplish their job duties.

Although conference calling can be a useful mechanism to discuss varioustopics, unfortunately, there exist several issues with currentconferencing methods that result in unproductive meetings, or in someinstances, a waste of time. Since conference calling has become moreeasy and common through a variety of online conferencing options, suchas Zoom®, Google Meet® and Microsoft Teams® individuals are spendingmore time than ever before on conference calls.

Some reasons for unproductive conferences include 1) incorrect or ad hocassignments of participants in a main conference to a breakout room, 2)lack of tools to determine participant performance within the breakoutroom, 3) lack of monitoring or real-time visibility of performancewithin the breakout sessions, especially when there are multiplesessions concurrently being held at the same time, 4) creating ofbreakout rooms in blind, i.e., without adequate information on thenumber of breakout rooms needed and which topics to assign to whichbreakout room, 5) lack of conference tools to take corrective actionswhen progress within a breakout room is not being made or is inadequate,and 6) lack of tools to leverage prior data and utilize it for asuccessful meeting. These are just a few of a plethora of issues thatare currently not addressed that result in inefficient meetings.

Another set of issues with current conferencing methods that result inunproductive meetings is the improper use of a moderator for thebreakout rooms. Since there is little or no visibility for the moderatorinto the performance of the breakout room due to the moderator not beingpresent in the breakout room, current methods do not have a method forproperly, efficiently, and intelligibly using the moderator’s time forthe breakout rooms. The problem is compounded when there are severalbreakout rooms and only one or not enough moderators available for eachroom thereby resulting in improper or unproductive use of themoderator’s time.

Yet another issue with current methods is that there are insufficientdigital or online tools to keep the breakout room focused on the topicto be discussed. For example, in the main conference room, a topic orcontext may be assigned for brainstorming in the breakout room. Withoutmoderator being in each breakout room all the time, each of which mayhave a different topic assigned for brainstorming, there are instanceswhere brainstorming might drift away from the assigned context/topic. Itis often required to bring the breakout room focus back on givencontext.

As such, there is a need for a better conferencing system and method toincrease productivity during conference calls, intelligibly assignparticipants to breakout rooms, monitor the breakout rooms, based onperformance data from the breakout rooms determine a moderator’sschedule of attending breakout sessions in the breakout rooms, andprovide tools that allow communication and management of the breakoutroom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various objects and advantages of the disclosure will be apparentupon consideration of the following detailed description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example process for determining breakoutroom topics, determining topic and participant scores, and assigningparticipants to different breakout rooms, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example process for monitoring breakoutrooms and generating a moderator schedule based on progress of thebreakout room, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example system for creating, monitoring,moderating, and managing breakout conference sessions for a mainconference, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example conference calling system, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conference device, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is block diagram for an example conference call having aplurality of breakout sessions, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 7 is flowchart of a process for generating a breakout conferencesession for a main conference and assigning participants to the breakoutsession, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are block diagram for an example scale for a topiccomplexity score, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a table of complexity scores assigned based on the topic ofbreakout discussion, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 10 is a table of scores for a plurality of breakout session topics,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a table of a breakdown of scores for a specific topic ofbreakout session, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a table of scores based on a participant’s performance whenin presence of another participant in the breakout session, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a geographic analyzer that analysesparticipant’s performance when in presence of another participant from adifferent country in the breakout session, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a knowledge module that accesses aplurality of sources and systems to generate a knowledge profile of aparticipant in the breakout session, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a chart of polling results of the participant that are basedon input provided by other participants that were in the same breakoutroom as the participant, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 16 is block diagram of assigning participants of the mainconference session to a breakout session, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 17 is block diagram of associating participant scores with acomplexity tier based on topic scores and assigning participantsbreakout rooms, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a user interface depicting scores of participants in abreakout room and analyzing the scores using a room analytics engine, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 19 is an example block diagram assignment of participants breakoutrooms and averaging across all breakout rooms, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 20 is user interface depicting an initial breakout room assignmentand a reshuffled assignment to average scores across all breakout rooms,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 21 is user interface depicting participants in a breakout room, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 22A is a block diagram of a plurality of participants in a breakoutroom and their voice signals, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 22B is a table of voice signal received over a time period fromparticipants in a breakout room, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 23 is user interface depicting a message received by participantsin a breakout room, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 24 is user interface displayed to a moderator, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 25 is user interface for a moderator to assign and shuffleparticipants in a breakout room, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 26 is user interface for a moderator to merge, split, and performbreakout room modifications, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 27 is a chart displayed on an interface showing the amount of timeand timestamps at which participants of a breakout room were speaking,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 28 is flowchart of a process for monitoring a breakout room andcharting the progress of discussion in the breakout room, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 29 is graph depicting progression of discussion in the breakoutroom with respect to a context, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 30 is user interface for a moderator to monitor a plurality ofbreakout rooms, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 31 is flowchart of a process for generating a schedule for themoderator for attending breakout sessions, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 32 is an example moderator schedule generated based on the needs ofplurality of breakout rooms, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with some embodiments disclosed herein, theabove-mentioned limitations are overcome by determining topics ofdiscussion and determining breakout sessions based on the topics,automatically creating the breakout session(s) (also referred to asbreakout room or breakout conference) for a main conference, assigningparticipants and a leader to each breakout session, selecting theparticipants and leader based on a plurality of scores and factors,automatically, or upon approval, joining the devices associated with theparticipants into the created breakout sessions, monitoring breakoutroom progress and health, generating a moderator schedule, and providingmain conference and breakout conference tools for monitoring the heathof breakout rooms and taking corrective actions. The embodiments alsoutilize natural language (NLP), machine learning, and artificialintelligence (AI) systems, modules, and algorithms. Such NLP and AIalgorithms are trained based on data gathered and utilized in makingbreakout room assignments and determining success probability of abreakout room.

In one embodiment, the methods determine topics for a breakout sessionof a main conference session based on agenda of the main conferencesession or other factors, such as participant discussion and documentsor emails exchanged prior or during the main conference session.

In one embodiment, the topics are analyzed to generate a complexityscore for each topic. A topic that deals with general matters which maynot require a high level of skill receives a lower complexity score thana topic that requires a certain level of education or skill set for aparticipant to understand receives a higher complexity score.

In one embodiment, the complexity score may also be used in determiningthe number of breakout rooms that can be created. For example, apredetermined complexity threshold number, such as 55, 63, 80, or anyother number, may be set by a user or the system for a topic ofdiscussion that is to be had in the breakout room. If a topic for abreakout room exceeds the predetermined complexity threshold number,then the system may automatically designate a breakout room specificallyfor the discussion of such topic. Alternatively, the system may alsocreate a breakout room for each topic, combine multiple topics into asingle breakout room, or divide a single topic into multiple breakoutrooms. Terms breakout room, breakout session, or brainstorming sessionare meant to be the same and used interchangeably throughout thisdocument. Terms conference room, conference session, or main conferenceare meant to be the same and used interchangeably throughout thisdocument.

The methods may also determine a score, also referred to as expertisescore for each participant associated with the main conference. Theexpertise score, which is herein also referred to as participant score,knowledge score, skill set score, performance score, is based on aplurality of factors. These factors include prior performance of theparticipant in another main or breakout session, engagement andcontributions of the participant during a breakout session, alertnessand activeness, collaboration skills, the discussions of the participantduring sessions and how closely the participant follows the context ofthe topic during breakout sessions, the participant’s performance in thepresence of another participant in the breakout session, theparticipant’s knowledge, skill set, education, awards associated withthe topic of discussion, and feedback received by the participantthrough surveys and polls. The score may dynamically change in real-timebased on current performance of the participant in a breakout room.

In one embodiment, a topic may have a complexity score and a participantscore may need to exceed the minimum complexity score for theparticipant to be assigned to a breakout room in which the topic is tobe discussed. In another embodiment, the system may assign theparticipant a breakout room based on the participant’s score in relationto the topic and not use the complexity score in such assignmentdeterminations. In yet another embodiment, a mix of the complexity scoreand participant score may be factored to make the assignmentdetermination.

In one embodiment, once the breakout rooms are created and a subset ofdevices, from the plurality of devices connected to the main conferencesession, are moved to the breakout rooms, either automatically or uponapproval by a user associated with the device, the discussions throughvoice signals in the breakout rooms may be monitored.

In one embodiment, the system may cause for display a graph on a userinterface of the moderator. The graph may reflect, in real-time, theperformance within each breakout room. The performance may be measuredbased on a plurality of factors. For example, voice signals within eachbreakout room may be analyzed and keywords from the voice signals may beextracted to determine whether those keywords are within the context ofa topic designated for discussion in the breakout room. If thediscussion within the breakout room is within the context, then thegraph is adjusted, and an upward or positive movement in the graph isdisplayed. On the flip side, if the discussions in the breakout room isdiverting, swaying away, or out of context from the assigned topic ofdiscussion, then a downward or negative movement in the graph isdisplayed. As such, performance may be measured with respect to howclose the discussion in the breakout room follows the context of thetopic.

In one embodiment, the real-time progress within each breakout room maybe factored in to generate a moderator schedule for the moderator tojoin each of the breakout rooms. A breakout room that is not performingwell, which may be indicated based on a negative graph, is assignedpriority in the moderator schedule over a breakout room that isperforming positively, which may be indicated by an upward movement inthe graph.

In one embodiment, if the graph movement exceeds a predeterminedacceleration threshold in a downward or negative manner, then themoderator schedule may be modified, and priority may be given to thebreakout room whose graph exceeds the predetermined acceleration.

In another embodiment, the system may closely monitor the context ortopics being discussed in main conference session before the breakoutsession has been created. In some instances, the system may use naturallanguage processing to determine the context or topic being discussed.In other instances, the moderator or another participant may manuallyprovide the context to system. Regardless of how the context and thetopics are determined, they are used in determining the number ofbreakout rooms and participants to be assigned.

Once the breakout rooms are created, during the breakout room session,system actively and continuously monitors the room’s discussion. Thesystem may compare the discussion with given context and plot acontinuous moving graph, such as a real-time graph, which projects howclose or how far the discussion is happening with respect to givencontext. The graph may also measure how active or how silent thebreakout room is. If the breakout room is silent, then, in oneembodiment, the graph may plot the line away from context or in adownward manner.

The system may also cause for display a plurality of conferencing toolsboth on the user interface used by the participant as well as the userinterface used by the moderator. For example, these conferencing toolsmay allow communications between different breakout rooms andcommunications between a breakout room and the main conference session.The conferencing tools may also allow the moderator to merge or splitbreakout rooms or move participants from one breakout room to anotherbreakout room. The conferencing tools may also allow the moderator togain deeper insights into the performance and activity of eachparticipant.

In another embodiment, machine learning (ML) an artificial intelligence(AI) engines, systems, and/or algorithms may be used to analyze pastperformance of a participant and predict future performance in aconference session. Data that results from the ML and AI analysis mayalso be used in determining which participant to place/assign to whichbreakout room or which participant to pair, or not pair, with anotherparticipant.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example process for determining breakoutroom topics, determining topic and participant scores, and assigningparticipants to different breakout rooms, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

In one embodiment, at block 1, a main conference session is accessed bya conference management system, such as the system displayed in FIG. 3 .The conference management system accesses the agenda and topics of themain conference session and analyzes them to extract topics for breakoutsessions. The conference management system also accesses profiles andother information of the users that are or will be attending the mainconference session.

In one embodiment, the conference management system determines thetopics by reviewing the agenda of the main conference session. Inanother embodiment the conference management system may access theattachments, such as the attachments depicted in block one, i.e., theMicrosoft Word and PowerPoint documents, an analyze the text withinthose documents to determine the topics of the main conference session.In yet another embodiment, the conference management system may listento audio output during the main conference for words spoken by the usersto determine topics for the breakout room. The conference managementsystem may also determine the topics of the main conference by accessingelectronic devices of the users and other databases which may storeinteractions between the users relating to the main conference session.For example, the conference management system may access emails or textsbetween users of the main conference session, prior to the meeting, todetermine topics that are relevant and/or will be discussed at the mainconference session.

In another embodiment, at block 2, the system generates a list of topicsthat are to be discussed in breakout rooms. The system also analyzes thecomplexity of the topics in determining the number of breakout roomsthat may be needed to discuss the generated topics. The system may alsodetermine the number of participants needed based on the complexity ofthe topic, e.g., a complex topic may need more people offering differentopinions to resolve a complex matter while a general topic may not needas many people and adding too many people may be less productive.

In one embodiment, the system may also generate a complexity score foreach topic and use the complexity score in making decisions relating tobreakout room creation and user assignments to the created breakoutrooms. For example, the system may determine a complexity scorethreshold, such as 55, 70, 80, or some other number inputted by a useror the system. For each topic that exceeds the complexity threshold, thecontrol circuitry may generate its own breakout session.

As depicted in block 2, the topics for the breakout room include 1)front end design, also referred to as topic 1 or T1 in FIGS. 1, 2 ) backend technical architecture, also referred to as topic 2 or T2, and 3)payment processing, also referred to as topic 3 or T3. In oneembodiment, topic 1 and topic 3 where generated based on the agenda ofthe main conference as depicted in block 1. The topic relating to backend technical architecture was generated, in one embodiment, by thesystem, based on the content inside the Microsoft Word and/or PowerPointattachments.

In one embodiment, at block 3, the system may generate a skill score foreach user of the main conference with respect to the topics for thebreakout room. The skill score may be calculated based on a plurality offactors. These factors include the users previous conference history inwhich the user may have discussed the same or similar topics as thosecurrently determined for the breakout rooms. The factors may alsoinclude the user’s knowledge level, education, expertise, and other knowhow. The factors may also include how other people in the company wherethe user works, perceive the user’s performance, knowledge, or skillwith respect to certain topics and may also include polls, surveys, andrecommendations provided by other users that have previously worked withthe user whose skill score is being calculated.

As depicted in block 3, user 1 has received a score of 47 with respectto topic 1 (T1), a score of 53 with respect to topic 2 (T2), and a scoreof 41 with respect to topic 3 (T3). Likewise, user 2 has received ascore of 79 with respect to topic 1 (T1), a score of 63 with respect totopic 2 (T2), and a score of 55 with a respected topic 3 (T3). Thesystem may compile these scores and store into a database. The scoresmay be updated dynamically based on the users continuously changingskill set and performances in conference sessions. For example, the userperforming well in a previous conference may get a high rating or scorefrom their colleagues thereby resulting in the user’s skill score withrespect to the topic being increased. In another embodiment, the systemmay monitor the user’s performance during a conference session or abreakout conference session to determine if the user stays on topic. Thesystem may also determine if the user’s discussions lead to successfuloutcome for the meeting, where success may be defined by assigningaction items to team members or checking off or closing open items.Success may also be defined by team members agreeing on next steps ofresolving an issue. The system may then dynamically adjust the user’sscore based on the above-mentioned monitoring.

At block 4, in one embodiment, the user’s skill score may be comparedagainst the complexity score for the topic designated for the breakoutsession. The complexity score may be the minimum skill score required tounderstand the topic. In one embodiment, if the user skill score doesnot meet the minimum complexity score set for a certain topic, then thesystem would not assign the user to a breakout room in which such topicwill be discussed. In another embodiment, the system may not use thecomplexity score, and only the participant’s general or topic specificknowledge/skill score, in determining placement of the participant in abreakout room

As depicted in block 4, topic 1 (T1) has at minimum score requirement of70, topic 2 (T2) has a minimum score requirement of 80, and topic 3 (T3)has a minimum score requirement of 30. Since users 2, 5, and 7 all meetthe minimum topic score requirement for topic 1 (T1), the system maypotentially select any of the users 2, 5, and 7 to discuss topic 1 (T1)in a breakout room. Likewise, topic 2 (T2) has a minimum scorerequirement of 80 and users 4 and 5 meet the set minimum requirements.As such, the system may determine that users 4 and 5 are qualified todiscuss topic 2 (T2) and may select them for a breakout session todiscuss the topic 2 (T2). Since topic 3 has the lowest minimum scorerequirement of all the three topics, which is a score of 30, potentiallyall users from the main conference room may be eligible and selected bythe system to discuss topic 3 (T3) in a breakout session.

The system may consider a plurality of factors to further select usersthat meet the minimum score requirement for the breakout session in thebreakout room. As depicted in block 5, in one embodiment, the systemselected users 2 and 7 for topic one (T1), users 4 and 5 for discussingtopic two (T2) and users 1, 3, 6, and 8 for discussing topic three (T3).The system may select all of the eligible users that meet the minimumscore to the breakout room or may further sub select based on additionalfactors.

The system may seamlessly move the users that it has designated forspecific topics and breakout rooms to their breakout rooms. The move maybe performed automatically or after the users agree to the move. Thesystem may utilize components, such as those depicted in FIGS. 3 and 5 ,to automatically invoke all back end processes involved in creatinglinks as well as the breakout sessions such that the system mayseamlessly move the users, either automatically or upon approval, to thebreakout session without user intervention requiring them to navigateseveral steps in moving to the breakout conference room.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example process for monitoring breakoutrooms and generating a moderator schedule based on progress of thebreakout room, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

In one embodiment, once the breakout rooms have been created and theusers moved to the breakout rooms, the system may provide monitoringtools to a moderator for monitoring each breakout room that is in activeor in progress. As depicted in block 1, the progress being made withinthe breakout room may be charted in real-time on a dynamically movinggraph. Although line graphs are depicted in FIG. 2 , other graphs, piecharts, line drawings, or figures that provide real-time depiction ofthe progress being made are also contemplated.

The graph charted by the system may be based on a variety of factorsthat show progress within the breakout room. These factors may include athreshold factor to determine how close the discussions in the room areto the topic that is designated for discussion. For example, if thediscussion in the room sways away or diverges from the designated topic,the real-time graph may show a downward move. Alternatively, if thediscussion in the room stays on target and within the scope of thedesignated topic, then the graph would show an upward movement. Otherfactors for the upward and downward movement of the graph may includeagreements and disagreements during discussions in the breakout room.They may also include instances in which the discussion is not movingalong at the required pace.

At block 7, based on the real-time graphs displayed in block 6, whichmay be displayed on a user interface of a mobile phone, laptop, ordesktop of the moderator, the system may determine a schedule for themoderator to join each of the breakout rooms in session. As depicted inblock 7, the system has allotted a specific amount of time for each roombreakout room and also generated a timeline that can be used in creatinga schedule for the moderate.

At block 8, a moderator schedule may be displayed on the display of anelectronic device associated with the moderator. The moderator schedulemay be a dynamic schedule that changes in real-time or on periodicintervals as changes occur in the graphs relating to the breakout rooms.For example, if a graph undergoes a sudden drop of it the breakout roomhas an urgent need for a moderator, the system may alert the moderatorand change the moderator’s schedule to accommodate the sudden drop orthe urgent need. The system may also receive a request from any one ofthe breakout rooms for the moderator and as such may change themoderator’s schedule to accommodate the request.

In one embodiment, the system may provide a plurality of conferencetools that may be used by the users as well as the moderator tocommunicate with each other. The user interface tools provided to themoderator may include reshuffling the users in a breakout room, such asmoving a user from breakout room 1 to breakout room 4 on an as neededbasis.

The processes, functions, and the creation of breakout rooms, assignmentof users to the breakout rooms, monitoring of the breakout rooms, andgenerating a schedule for the moderator to assist with the breakoutrooms may be performed based on systems and devices as described andFIGS. 3-5 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example system for creating, monitoring,managing, and taking corrective actions in a breakout room associatedwith a main conference, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. In FIG. 3 , an audio/video conferencing system 300 isconfigured, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Insome embodiment, one or more parts of, or the entirety of system 300,may be configured as a system implementing various features, processes,functionalities, tables, scores, schedules, user interfaces, andcomponents of FIGS. 6-32 . Although FIG. 3 shows a certain number ofcomponents, in various examples, system 300 may include fewer than theillustrated number of components and/or multiples of one or more of theillustrated number of components.

System 300 is shown to include a computing device 318, a server 302 anda communication network 314. It is understood that while a singleinstance of a component may be shown and described relative to FIG. 3 ,additional instances of the component may be employed. For example,server 302 may include, or may be incorporated in, more than one server.Similarly, communication network 314 may include, or may be incorporatedin, more than one communication network. Server 302 is showncommunicatively coupled to computing device 318 through communicationnetwork 314. While not shown in FIG. 3 , server 302 may be directlycommunicatively coupled to computing device 318, for example, in asystem absent or bypassing communication network 314.

Communication network 314 may comprise one or more network systems, suchas, without limitation, an Internet, LAN, WIFI or other network systemssuitable for audio processing applications. In some embodiments, system300 excludes server 302, and functionality that would otherwise beimplemented by server 302 is instead implemented by other components ofsystem 300, such as one or more components of communication network 314.In still other embodiments, server 302 works in conjunction with one ormore components of communication network 314 to implement certainfunctionality described herein in a distributed or cooperative manner.Similarly, in some embodiments, system 300 excludes computing device318, and functionality that would otherwise be implemented by computingdevice 318 is instead implemented by other components of system 300,such as one or more components of communication network 314 or server302 or a combination. In still other embodiments, computing device 318works in conjunction with one or more components of communicationnetwork 314 or server 302 to implement certain functionality describedherein in a distributed or cooperative manner.

Computing device 318 includes control circuitry 328, display 334 andinput circuitry 316. Control circuitry 328 in turn includes transceivercircuitry 362, storage 338 and processing circuitry 340. In someembodiments, computing device 318 or control circuitry 328 may beconfigured as media device 500 of FIG. 5 .

Server 302 includes control circuitry 320 and storage 324. Each ofstorages 324 and 338 may be an electronic storage device. As referred toherein, the phrase “electronic storage device” or “storage device”should be understood to mean any device for storing electronic data,computer software, or firmware, such as random-access memory, read-onlymemory, hard drives, optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders,compact disc (CD) recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3Ddisc recorders, digital video recorders (DVRs, sometimes called personalvideo recorders, or PVRs), solid state devices, quantum storage devices,gaming consoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removablestorage devices, and/or any combination of the same. Each storage 324,338 may be used to store various types of content, metadata, and orother types of data (e.g., they can be used to record audio questionsasked by one or more participants connected to the conference.Non-volatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routineand other instructions). Cloud-based storage may be used to supplementstorages 324, 338 or instead of storages 324, 338. In some embodiments,the audio and/or video portion(s) of the breakout room session may berecorded and stored in one or more of storages 312, 338.

In some embodiments, control circuitry 320 and/or 328 executesinstructions for an application stored in memory (e.g., storage 324and/or storage 338). Specifically, control circuitry 320 and/or 328 maybe instructed by the application to perform the functions discussedherein. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 320 and/or 328 may be based on instructions received from theapplication. For example, the application may be implemented as softwareor a set of executable instructions that may be stored in storage 324and/or 338 and executed by control circuitry 320 and/or 328. In someembodiments, the application may be a client/server application whereonly a client application resides on computing device 318, and a serverapplication resides on server 302.

The application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. Forexample, it may be a stand-alone application wholly implemented oncomputing device 318. In such an approach, instructions for theapplication are stored locally (e.g., in storage 338), and data for useby the application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from anout-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitableapproach). Control circuitry 328 may retrieve instructions for theapplication from storage 338 and process the instructions to perform thefunctionality described herein. Based on the processed instructions,control circuitry 328 may determine a type of action to perform inresponse to input received from input circuitry 316 or fromcommunication network 314. For example, in response to determining thata disagreement exists, the control circuitry 328 may perform the stepsof process 700 (FIG. 7 ), process 2800 (FIG. 28 ), or functionalitydescribed with respects to FIGS. 1 and 2 , and all the steps andprocesses described in all the figures depicted herein.

In client/server-based embodiments, control circuitry 328 may includecommunication circuitry suitable for communicating with an applicationserver (e.g., server 302) or other networks or servers. The instructionsfor carrying out the functionality described herein may be stored on theapplication server. Communication circuitry may include a cable modem,an Ethernet card, or a wireless modem for communication with otherequipment, or any other suitable communication circuitry. Suchcommunication may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunication networks or paths (e.g., communication network 314). Inanother example of a client/server-based application, control circuitry328 runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by a remoteserver (e.g., server 302). For example, the remote server may store theinstructions for the application in a storage device. The remote servermay process the stored instructions using circuitry (e.g., controlcircuitry 328) and/or generate displays. Computing device 318 mayreceive the displays generated by the remote server and may display thecontent of the displays locally via display 334. This way, theprocessing of the instructions is performed remotely (e.g., by server302) while the resulting displays, such as the display windows describedelsewhere herein, are provided locally on computing device 318.Computing device 318 may receive inputs from the user via inputcircuitry 316 and transmit those inputs to the remote server forprocessing and generating the corresponding displays. Alternatively,computing device 318 may receive inputs from the user via inputcircuitry 316 and process and display the received inputs locally, bycontrol circuitry 328 and display 334, respectively.

Server 302 and computing device 318 may transmit and receive content anddata such as breakout room participant data, breakout room health data,scores of participants, knowledge profile from stored databases, mediacontent via communication network 314. For example, server 302 may be aconference provider, and computing device 318 may be a conference orclient device configured to allow participants or moderator to join aconference, such as the main conference or breakout room as depicted inFIGS. 1, 6 and/or 16 . Control circuitry 320, 328 may send and receivecommands, requests, and other suitable data through communicationnetwork 314 using transceiver circuitry 360, 362, respectively. Controlcircuitry 320, 328 may communicate directly with each other usingtransceiver circuits 360, 362, respectively, avoiding communicationnetwork 314.

It is understood that computing device 318 is not limited to theembodiments and methods shown and described herein. In nonlimitingexamples, computing device 318 may be a conferencing device, a personalcomputer (PC), a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a WebTV box, apersonal computer television (PC/TV), a PC media server, a PC mediacenter, a handheld computer, a stationary telephone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smartphone, or any other device,computing equipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the samecapable of suitably displaying and manipulating conference content.

Control circuitry 320 and/or 318 may be based on any suitable processingcircuitry such as processing circuitry 326 and/or 340, respectively. Asreferred to herein, processing circuitry should be understood to meancircuitry based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers,digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), etc., and may include a multi-core processor (e.g.,dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or any suitable number of cores). Insome embodiments, processing circuitry may be distributed acrossmultiple separate processors, for example, multiple of the same type ofprocessors (e.g., two Intel Core i9 processors) or multiple differentprocessors (e.g., an Intel Core i7 processor and an Intel Core i9processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 320 and/or controlcircuitry 318 are configured to implement a conferencing system, such assystems, or parts thereof, that perform various conferencing processesdescribed and shown in connection with FIGS. 6-32 and/or systemscarrying out the features described and shown relative to FIGS. 3 and 4.

Computing device 318 receives a user input 304 at input circuitry 316.For example, computing device 318 may receive a user input like roomassignment, a user swipe or user touch to join a breakout room etc. Insome embodiments, computing device 318 is a conference device with thecapability to allow participants or moderator to join a breakout room.The computing device 318 may also provide meeting tools to theparticipants or the moderator while in the breakout room. It isunderstood that computing device 318 is not limited to the embodimentsand methods shown and described herein. In nonlimiting examples,computing device 318 may be a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer,a tablet computer, a handheld computer, a stationary telephone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smartphone, orany other conferencing equipment, computing equipment, or wirelessdevice, and/or combination of the same.

User input 304 may be received from a user selection-capturing interfacethat is separate from device 318, such as a remote-control device,trackpad or any other suitable user movement sensitive or capturedevices, or as part of device 318, such as a touchscreen of display 334.Transmission of user input 304 to computing device 318 may beaccomplished using a wired connection, such as an audio cable, USBcable, ethernet cable or the like attached to a corresponding input portat a local device, or may be accomplished using a wireless connection,such as Bluetooth, WIFI, WiMAX, GSM, UTMS, CDMA, TDMA, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE,or any other suitable wireless transmission protocol. Input circuitry316 may comprise a physical input port such as a 3.5 mm audio jack, RCAaudio jack, USB port, ethernet port, or any other suitable connectionfor receiving audio over a wired connection or may comprise a wirelessreceiver configured to receive data via Bluetooth, WIFI, WiMAX, GSM,UTMS, CDMA, TDMA, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, or other wireless transmissionprotocols.

Processing circuitry 340 may receive input 304 from input circuit 316.Processing circuitry 340 may convert or translate the received userinput 304 that may be in the form of voice input into a microphone, ormovement or gestures to digital signals. In some embodiments, inputcircuit 316 performs the translation to digital signals. In someembodiments, processing circuitry 340 (or processing circuitry 326, asthe case may be) carries out disclosed processes and methods. Forexample, processing circuitry 340 or processing circuitry 326 mayperform processes 700 and 2800 of FIGS. 7 and 28 , respectively.

FIG. 4 depicts, an example conference call system 470, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. The system 470 includes server302, as depicted in FIG. 3 , and a communication server 475. Theapplication server 302 and the communication server 475 include computerhardware as depicted in FIG. 3 to enable the storage and processing ofconference related information across communications network 444, whichincludes LAN, WAN, and the Internet. In some embodiments, the server 302and the communication server 475 may be virtual servers that run on thesame computerized device, such as a single processor, a single memory,and a single network interface device.

The communication server 475 may be connected to a human resources (HR)database 477, a scheduling database 479, a meeting documents database481, an ML/Al database 482 that stores data analyzed and collected byexecuting machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms, auser profile database 483, social media database 484 and other databasesstoring information relating to the participant. The HR database 477 maycomprise a profile of each employee of the company. The profile mayinclude the employee, title, their job description, org chart whichdepicts all reports, managers and colleagues of the employee, groups towhich the employee is connected, and any equipment, processes, jobroles, and/or topics controlled by the employee for which the employeehas decision making authority, employee education, employee degrees,employee reviews, positions held, departments worked for previously etc.

The scheduling database 479 may comprise a plurality of calendars andavailability of systems, equipment, laboratories, and other servicesprovided by the company. The calendar may show real-time availabilityfor all services and processes controlled by the company. For example,if an employee needs to schedule the thermal testing lab during the weekof November 10th, the control circuitry through the communication servermay access the scheduling database and determine availability of thethermal testing lab during the November 10^(th) week. If the employee isbeing sought out for breakout session that will be held on a scheduleddate, the scheduling database may include information to determine theemployee’s availability.

The meeting documents database 481 may include meeting agenda, documentsrelated to the meeting, emails, chats, and other communications relatingto the meeting. The control circuitry through the communication servermay access the meeting documents database 481 to obtain meeting agendaand schedule conference and breakout rooms. The communication circuitrymay also access emails, chats, and any other documents exchanged priorto the meeting to determine the participants involved in the mainconference and, based on the information available, may associate eachparticipant with a particular topic of the agenda and experience withthe topic. For example, if one of the topics of the main conference isaugmented reality, and meeting documents circulated prior to meetinginclude John’s email comments relating to Augmented Reality or anyattachments, then the system may determine that John is knowledgeable inAugmented Reality systems and a breakout room that is focused on adiscussion relating to Augmented Reality should include John.

The MI,/AI database 482 may include data that has been collected andanalyzed by executing ML and AI algorithms. For example, as will bedescribed in further detail below, an ML algorithm may be executed toextract information relating to the participant’s behavior in previousconferences or participant’s past interactions through email, socialmedia, and other sources. The ML algorithm may be used to determine apattern based on such previous interactions and the data may be storedin the MI,/AI database 482. The data collected may also be analyzed bythe AI algorithm and stored in the MI,/AI database 482. The controlcircuitry through the communication server may access the MI,/AIdatabase 482 to obtain participant data and use such data in determiningwhether the participant is qualified for a certain topic of the breakoutsession.

User profile database 483 may a profile that has been populated by theuser, a human resources (HR) department or the system. This may includebackground information about the user /participant of the breakout room.Information such as prior experiences, accolades, expertise in aparticular area, and any other information relevant to the employmentmay be populated in the user’s profile and saved in the user profiledatabase. The system may also use machine learning (ML) and artificialintelligence (AI) algorithms to mine and analyze data from previousmeetings and interactions involving the user and store it in the user’sprofile. The control circuitry through the communication server mayaccess the user profile database 483 to obtain the profile.

In some embodiments, social media database may include interactions ofthe user on various social media platforms. This may either be a singledatabase that stores the information, or the system may need to access aseparate database for each social media platform associated with theuser. The user may need to authorize access by the system to socialmedia databases associated with the user such that social mediadatabases can be accessed and information that is relevant to the user’semployment and topics of the conference or breakout session can besearched and obtained from such social media databases. The controlcircuitry through the communication server may access the social mediadatabase 484, such as Facebook®, Instagram®, or Twitter® to obtain feedsand other information posted by the user on those platforms. Forexample, if one of the topics of the main conference is augmentedreality, and the user has posted comments on social media relating toaugmented realty, then such feeds, tweets, or posting will be accessedand analyzed to determine the user’s proficiency in such subjectmatters. The proficiency may be compared to a topic agenda of thebreakout session and used in determining whether the user isknowledgeable in the topic of the breakout room such that he/she may beassigned to the room.

In addition to the databases mentioned, other databases that include theuser’s interactions, documents, postings relevant to the topic of thebreakout room or the conference room may also be accessed and analyzedto determine the user’s knowledge and proficiency level such topics. Forexample, if the user is a member of a technical forum, such as theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has spokenat the IEEE conferences or written papers, then accessing the IEEEsystem, the system may obtain relevant information to access the user’sknowledge proficiency in the topic of the breakout room.

While in some embodiments each of the HR database 477, schedulingdatabase 479, meeting documents database 481, user profile database 483,and social media database 484 are comprised by the communication server,in other embodiments, that one or all of the databases may be comprisedby the server 302 or another server apart from the server 302, which maybe an application server, and the communication server 475.

The server 302 may comprise an email interface 485, a schedulinginterface 487, an audio interface 489, and a video interface 491. Theemail interface 485 may be configured to send and receive emailcommunication from participants of the conference session, such as themain conference or breakout session described in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Theserver 302 may further comprise a parser 493. The parser 493 may be incommunication with the email interface 485 such that it may receive anemail communication from a participant of the main conference orbreakout session. The parser may be configured to extract informationfrom the email received and provide it to the control circuitry of FIG.5 for processing. For example, the parser 493 may extract meeting agendafrom the email received and provide it to the control circuitry forcreating and managing the main conference or breakout session. Theinformation extracted by the parser 493 may be stored on local storage495.

The scheduling interface 487 may be configured to receive calendarinvites and other forms of scheduling data. The calendar interface 487may be operable to receive and/or query a third-party calendar databaseto retrieve a calendar event. For example, the calendar interface 487may be configured to interface with a Google® Calendar applicationprogramming interface (API), a Microsoft Teams® calendar API, and anOutlook® calendar API. If a calendar invite is received, the schedulinginterface 487 may provide to the parser 493 the scheduling details andany information comprised by the calendar such that the information canbe passed onto and used by the control circuitry to schedule mainconference or breakout session as needed.

The audio interface 487 may be configured to receive audio instructionsto set up a meeting or speech during a main conference or breakoutsession. The audio interface may forward the speech and audio sounds tothe parser such that they can be analyzed by the control circuitry andmeeting related actions can be taken based on the content and context ofthe speech. For example, the control circuitry may analyze the speechusing an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm and determine twoparticipants have expertise in a field, such as augmented reality, andthat a breakout session concerning augmented reality should include thetwo participants. The audio information extracted by the parser 493 maybe stored on local storage 495.

The video interface 489 may be configured to receive videos and imagesof participants during a conference and breakout sessions. The imagesand video data may be parsed by the parser and provided to the controlcircuitry such that meeting related actions can be taken based on thecontent and context of the images and video parsed. For example, thecontrol circuitry may analyze the images and video, such as live video,using an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm and determine that afirst participant in the breakout session is interrupting a secondparticipant and an alert should be sent to the breakout room such thatthe second participant may get a chance to provide their thoughts anopinion on the topic and not be overshadowed by the first participant.The video information extracted by the parser 493 may be stored on localstorage 495.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conference device, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. In an embodiment, the conferencingdevice 500, is the same conferencing device 302 of FIG. 4 . Theconferencing device 500 may receive content and data via input/output(I/O) path 502. The I/O path 502 may provide audio content (e.g., speechinput from a participant of the conference call) and data to controlcircuitry 504, which includes processing circuitry 506 and a storage508. The control circuitry 504 may be used to send and receive commands,requests, and other suitable data using the I/O path 502. The I/O path502 may connect the control circuitry 504 (and specifically theprocessing circuitry 506) to one or more communications paths. I/Ofunctions may be provided by one or more of these communications pathsbut are shown as a single path in FIG. 5 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing.

The control circuitry 504 may be based on any suitable processingcircuitry such as the processing circuitry 506. As referred to herein,processing circuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on oneor more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor).

The methods and processes involved in determining topics of discussionand determining breakout sessions based on the topics, automaticallycreating the breakout session(s) for a main conference, assigningparticipants and a leader to each breakout session, selecting theparticipants and leader based on a plurality of scores and factors,automatically, or upon approval, joining the devices associated with theparticipants into the created breakout sessions, monitoring breakoutroom progress and health, generating a moderator schedule, and providingmain conference and breakout conference tools for monitoring the heathof breakout rooms and taking corrective actions, and related functionsas described herein can be at least partially implemented using thecontrol circuitry 504. In one embodiment, automatic refers to,performing the function without user intervention. The processes asdescribed herein may be implemented in or supported by any suitablesoftware, hardware, or combination thereof. They may also be implementedon servers, such as server 102 in FIG. 3 , on remote servers, or acrossboth.

In client-server-based embodiments, the control circuitry 504 mayinclude communications circuitry suitable for communicating with one ormore servers that may at least implement the storing of theall-conference and breakout room related information, such as meetingagendas, names and profiles of participants, recording of the mainconference and breakout conference sessions, determining topics ofdiscussion and determining breakout sessions based on the topics,automatically creating the breakout session(s) for a main conference,assigning participants and a leader to each breakout session, selectingthe participants and leader based on a plurality of scores and factors,automatically, or upon user approval, joining the devices associatedwith the participants into the created breakout sessions, monitoringbreakout room progress and health, generating a moderator schedule, andproviding main conference and breakout conference tools for monitoringthe heath of breakout rooms and taking corrective actions, generatingclosed caption transcripts of all breakout rooms discussions and relatedfunctions and processes as described herein. The instructions forcarrying out the above-mentioned functionality may be stored on the oneor more servers. Communications circuitry may include a cable modem, anintegrated service digital network (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriberline (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card, or a wireless modemfor communications with other equipment, or any other suitablecommunications circuitry. Such communications may involve the Internetor any other suitable communications networks or paths. In addition,communications circuitry may include circuitry that enables peer-to-peercommunication of conferencing devices, or communication of conferencingdevices in locations remote from each other (described in more detailbelow).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as the storage 508that is part of the control circuitry 504. As referred to herein, thephrase “electronic storage device” or “storage device” should beunderstood to mean any device for storing electronic data, computersoftware, or firmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory,hard drives, optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compactdisc (CD) recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D discrecorders, digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personalvideo recorder, or PVR), solid-state devices, quantum storage devices,gaming consoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removablestorage devices, and/or any combination of the same. The storage 508 maybe used to store various types of content described herein, such asmeeting agendas, breakout room topics, moderator schedules, names andprofiles of participants, recording of the main and breakout conferencesessions, prior meeting transcripts, participant scores, complexityratings of topics of the breakout rooms, employee titles, job roles, andorg charts, closed caption transcripts, and natural language (NLP),machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routineand other instructions). Cloud-based storage, described in relation toFIG. 3 , may be used to supplement the storage 508 or instead of thestorage 508.

The control circuitry 504 may include audio generating circuitry andtuning circuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, audio generationcircuitry, filters or any other suitable tuning or audio circuits orcombinations of such circuits. The control circuitry 504 may alsoinclude scaler circuitry for upconverting and down converting contentinto the preferred output format of the conferencing device 500. Thecontrol circuitry 504 may also include digital-to-analog convertercircuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry for convertingbetween digital and analog signals. The tuning and encoding circuitrymay be used by the conferencing device 500 to receive and to display, toplay, or to record content. The circuitry described herein, including,for example, the tuning, audio generating, encoding, decoding,encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may beimplemented using software running on one or more general purpose orspecialized processors. If the storage 508 is provided as a separatedevice from the conferencing device 500, the tuning and encodingcircuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated with the storage508.

The user may utter instructions to the control circuitry 504, such asduring a breakout session, which are received by the microphone 516. Themicrophone 516 may be any microphone (or microphones) capable ofdetecting human speech. The microphone 516 is connected to theprocessing circuitry 506 to transmit detected voice commands and otherspeech thereto for processing. In some embodiments, voice assistants(e.g., Siri, Alexa, Google Home and similar such voice assistants)receive and process the voice commands and other speech.

The conferencing device 500 may include an interface 510. The interface510 may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse,trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input,joystick, or other user input interfaces. A display 512 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of theconferencing device 500. For example, the display 512 may be atouchscreen or touch-sensitive display. In such circumstances, theinterface 510 may be integrated with or combined with the microphone516. When the interface 510 is configured with a screen, such a screenmay be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display(LCD) for a mobile device, active-matrix display, cathode ray tubedisplay, light-emitting diode display, organic light-emitting diodedisplay, quantum dot display, or any other suitable equipment fordisplaying visual images. In some embodiments, the interface 510 may beHDTV-capable. In some embodiments, the display 512 may be a 3D display.The speaker (or speakers) 514 may be provided as integrated with otherelements of conferencing device 500 or may be a stand-alone unit. Insome embodiments, the display 512 may be outputted through speaker 514.

The conferencing device 500 of FIG. 5 can be implemented in system 300of FIG. 3 as conferencing device 118, but any other type of conferencingdevice suitable for determining topics of discussion and determiningbreakout sessions based on the topics, automatically creating thebreakout session(s) for a main conference, assigning participants and aleader to each breakout session, selecting the participants and leaderbased on a plurality of scores and factors, automatically, or uponapproval, joining the devices associated with the participants into thecreated breakout sessions, monitoring breakout room progress and health,generating a moderator schedule, and providing main conference andbreakout conference tools for monitoring the heath of breakout rooms andtaking corrective actions. For example, conferencing devices such as alaptop, mobile phone, electronic tablet or similar may be used.Conferencing devices may be part of a network of devices. Variousnetwork configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussedin more detail below.

FIG. 6 is block diagram of an example conference call having a mainconference session and a plurality of breakout rooms/sessions, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In this embodiment,the main conference call session includes a total of four breakout roomsA, B, C, and D. In addition, breakout room D is depicted to be furthersplit into breakout session D and sub-session D2 for a certain durationof time.

As depicted in FIG. 6 , the main conference has been allotted a time of120 minutes. Each of the breakout sessions A, B, C, and D have beenallotted a total of 60 minutes. Breakout session D has been split into asecond section D2 for 15 minutes. Although it is depicted that allbreakout sessions have been allotted the same amount of time, the systemmay allow different amount of time for different breakout sessions asneeded. The system may also lengthen or shorten the time of a breakoutsession based on a variety of factors, such as if the topic ofdiscussion is completed or if additional time is needed.

As will be described in further detail below, any number of breakoutrooms/ sessions may be generated by the system based on the amount,type, and complexity of the topics that need to be discussed. Thebreakout sessions may be created automatically by the control circuitry.In one embodiment, control circuitry may automatically create thebreakout session based on analysis performed by an artificialintelligence engine executing an AI algorithm, wherein automatic refersto, in one embodiment, performing the function without userintervention. The AI algorithm may be fed data, such as meeting agendas,discussions during the main conference session that suggest a breakoutsession, keywords uttered during the main conference session. The AIalgorithm may also receive inputted data that indicates that aparticular topic that is part of the main conference session is bettersuited for a breakout session or is a topic that requires furtherattention or expertise, requires grouping of certain participants forfurther discussion, such that the primary conferencing session proceedwithout delays, or be paused until the breakout session is completed andthe participants have returned to the main conference session.

In some embodiments the main conference session call may have apresenter, a leader, or a moderator. In other embodiments there may be aplurality of participants and the main conference session may not have adesignated presenter or moderator and it may be a meeting where severalparticipants discuss a plurality of topics.

In some embodiments, the main conference call session may include apresenter. The presenter may lead the meeting and facilitate thediscussion of topics in the agenda. The presenter may use an electronicdevice to manage the main conference session, to communicate with otherparticipants, and select conferencing options available for theconference session.

As will be further explained later, the breakout rooms A, B, C, and Dmay be assigned specific participants from the main conference session.The participants may be reshuffled to other breakout rooms as needed.Breakout session D2, in one embodiment, may not be part of the initiallycreated breakout sessions A, B, C, and D. The system may monitor thediscussions and progress of each breakout session and determine a needto further split or merge some of the breakout sessions already inprogress. Breakout session D2, is one such example of a second breakoutsession being generated for a smaller duration of time for participantsof the initially created breakout session D.

In some embodiments, when the breakout sessions have ended, either basedon the total time allotted, or ended earlier by the participants, theparticipants of the breakout session will be joined back automatically,or upon approval by the participants, and seamlessly into the mainconference session. The participants may report their findings from thebreakout session, or a transcript and summary may be provided anaccessible two other attendees of the main conference session that werenot part of the breakout session. In one embodiment, the process ofassigning participants to a breakout session, such as any one of thebreakout sessions A, B, C, or D is further described in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a process for generating and managing breakoutrooms, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Theprocess 700 allows the system, such as system depicted in FIG. 3 , toautomatically generate a desired number of breakout rooms, seamlesslymove participants to the generated breakout room, and then move themback into the main conference one the breakout session is completed,wherein automatic refers to, in one embodiment, performing the functionwithout user intervention. Creating such breakout rooms allows a focuseddiscussion to take place on a specific topic of the main conferencesession while the main conference session may continue without anydisruptions. Additionally, the system may also generate a summary of thediscussions, action items, and relevant data from the breakout sessionssuch that once everyone from the breakout session is merged back to themain conference session, a summary of what they brainstormed, discussed,or achieved in each breakout session may be useful to access for otherparticipants of the main conference session that were not in the samebreakout session. The summary may be accessed at any time and inreal-time even when the breakout session is in progress. For example, amoderator entering a breakout room may want to get up to speed and mayuse the summary of the discussions had so far in the breakout room tocatch up.

The process 700, in one embodiment, may begin at block 710 where thesystem establishes a conference call session. The main conference callsession may be established based on host participant scheduling aconference call session in their calendar. They may also use onlinetools and virtual meeting platforms, such as Zoom®, Google Meet®, orMicrosoft Teams® to signal the system to establish the main conferencesession.

Regardless how the request for establishing the main conference callsession is received, the system may establish the main conference callsession and send links and confirmation to all the participants that areto attend the main conference session. In some embodiments, the systemmay also provide special links to a presenter. Moderator, or host of themain conference call session and provide them hosting tools.

At block 715 the system determines the topics of discussion in the mainconference session. The topics of discussion and other conferencedetails, such as title of the meeting and agenda may be obtained by thesystem from a plurality of sources. For example, a document containingmeeting title and the topics of agenda may have been circulated to theparticipants of the meeting prior to or after establishing the mainconference. The title and agenda may also be obtained through ascheduler, calendar, or a meeting invite that lists the title and theagenda of the main conference session. In some embodiments, the titleand agenda may be uttered by one of the participants during the mainconference call and the system, by applying natural language processing(NLP) algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms maydetermine the topic and agenda based on analyzing the uttered speech. Inanother embodiment, a participant may request that a particular topic bediscussed in additional detail. In yet another embodiment, the systemmay detect difficulty during discussions in resolving a topic during themain conference session. It may also detect that a topic is beingextensively discussed by only a subset of the participants of the mainconference session, and, as such, determine a need for the topic to bediscussed during a breakout session.

At block 720, once the topics of discussion are determined, the systemaccesses a topic expertise score. In one embodiment, the topic expertisescore is a recommended score that reflects the complexity of the topicto be discussed. For example, a high expertise score relates to a morecomplex topic and a lower expertise score which relates to astraightforward or a less complex topic.

Several categories may be analyzed by the control circuitry 504 todetermine whether a particular topic requires further discussion, is thebasis for a disagreement, or has conflicting views that require abreakout conference. In one embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 8A, thecomplexity score may range from 1-10, where “1” is associated with theleast complex topic and “10” is associated with the most complex topic,among the topics of the main conference session. A 1-100 scale, oranother numbering scale may also be used.

In another embodiment, the measuring scale used for associating thelevel of complexity may be different than the scale shown in FIG. 8A.For example, as depicted in FIG. 8B, a “low,” “medium,” “high,” and“expert” scale may be used to associate the level of complexity of thetopic, where “low” is associated with a least complex topic and “expert”is associated with the most complex topic, among the topics determinedin the main conference room.

As depicted in FIG. 9 , the complexity score may differ depending on thetype of topic to be discussed. For example, the complexity score for adiscussion topic that involves an office party that is to be planned bythe participants is given a low complexity score of “2.” The low scoremay be given since a low level of expertise is required to provide inputfor an office party. Since one may not need to have much experience andprovide input relating to type of food or decor, this may be given a lowcomplexity score. The low complexity score also implies that any one ofthe participants from the main conference session, whose expertise scoremeets the low complexity score, may be able to participate in thisdiscussion.

In another embodiment, the topic “Thermal testing” is provided acomplexity score of 6. Since thermal testing may require a certainamount of knowledge and expertise in the field, such as thermodynamics,or testing, which not every participant may possess, thermal testing isgiven a higher complexity score than “office party” planning. As such,participants that may intelligently contribute to a discussion relatingto thermal testing will likely need to have some background andexperience in thermal testing field to be able to analyze details of thetopic and present intelligent views on the topic. Using the highercomplexity score, the system determines whether a participant’sknowledge level score meets the complexity score, and I so, allows themto participate in the conversation on the topic that is to be held in abreakout room. In other words, it can be used as a screening orgatekeeper tool. In another embodiment, the system may not use the topicexpertise score, and only the participant’s general or topic specificknowledge/skill score, in determining placement of the participant in abreakout room.

In another embodiment, the topic “Nuclear Fusion” is provided acomplexity score of 10. In this embodiment, “10” may be the highestcomplexity score offered on this particular scale. Since nuclear fusionis a highly complex topic that not only requires a standard level ofexperience and expertise in the field, but probably requires a very highlevel of understanding to prevent any dangerous or fatal nuclearaccidents occurring during the nuclear fusion, the topic is given thehighest complexity score, among the topics of agenda in the mainconference room. The topic, which is to be discussed in the breakoutroom, in some instances, may require someone to have a PhD in order tointelligently discuss it and provide guidance.

Other topics listed “supplies for thermal testing,” “testing schedule,”and “marketing,” as depicted, received a complexity score of 5, 4, and 6respectively.

Along with varying the complexity score, such as complexity scoresdescribed above in relation to FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 9 , a complex topic mayalso have a higher threshold and a tighter spread of scores betweenparticipants. For example, a highly complex topic may have a highthreshold that needs to be met for participants to be assigned to thetopic and the scores of each participant may only differ from anotherparticipant by only 5%, or some other tighter spread. The tighter spreadmay be used to ensure that participants of a certain knowledge andcaliber that are very similar in scores are placed together.

Referring back to FIG. 7 , at block 725, once a complexity score isdetermined for all the topics designated for a breakout room discussion,the system determines the number of breakout rooms needed to discusssuch topics. Several categories may be analyzed by the system, e.g.,control circuitry 504 of the system depicted in FIG. 5 , may be used todetermine whether a particular topic requires further discussion,whether a breakout room should be generated to discuss the topic,whether the topic is related to any other topics for breakout room andif so, can it be combined with another topic and discussed in the samebreakout room. One of the key factors in determining whether the topicrequires its own independent breakout room session may be the complexityof the topic. For example, a topic with a high complexity score may getits own independent breakout room while a topic with a low complexityscore may not get their own independent breakout room and may becombined with another topic for the breakout room. Instead, the topicmay be combined with another topic in another breakout room or remain inthe main conference room for discussion.

Considering the above factors, the system may determine the number ofbreakout rooms needed to discuss all the topics identified in the mainconferencing session for discussion in the breakout rooms. The systemmay also combine topics or generate breakout rooms for specificallydiscussing only one topic. From the above-mentioned example, if thetopic of discussion is “Nuclear Fusion,” which is given a complexityscore of “10,” the system may generate a breakout room specifically forsuch discussion. The system may also select participants that meet ahigh-level criterion/score and have the background in nuclear fusion indetermining which participants shall be part of the breakout session,e.g., the system may require the participant to have a certain personalscore and/or a score related based on their knowledge level relating tonuclear fusion. The system may also determine that “Nuclear Fusion”should be broken into two rooms for discussion.

At block 730, the control circuitry 504 of the system depicted in FIG. 5, may determine a user score. The user may be associated with one ormore devices and the control circuitry 504 may associate the user scorewith the device that will be used to connect to the breakout room. Thecontrol circuitry 504 may provide access based on the IP address of thedevice to certain breakout rooms that the user can join using the deviceand IP address.

Computing a user score, or score for the device that will be used by theuser during the main conference and breakout room discussion orassociating the user score with the user device is meant to be the sameand used interchangeably. For ease of discussion, references will bemade to user’s score, which is then associated with the user device,such that a device score that meets the score criteria for a topic orbreakout room can be admitted to the breakout room based on its score.

In one embodiment, the score can be computed based on a plurality offactors that are relative to context, other participants in the breakoutroom, geography, language, knowledge and expertise to name a few. Someexamples of factors used in computing the user score are described inrelation to descriptions of FIGS. 10-15 .

FIG. 10 is a table of scores for a plurality of breakout session topics,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. As depicted intable 1000, scores for a participant (John) of the main conferencesession with respect to a plurality of topics/categories has beencomputed and displayed in the table. The scores may be computed by thecontrol circuitry 504 depicted in FIG. 5 . In computing the score, thecontrol circuitry 504 may access one or more databases 477-484 asdepicted in FIG. 4 . The score may be provided based on theparticipant’s performance in relation to a wide variety of contexts andfactors, which may be dynamic and modified by the system, a host of themeeting, the company for which the participant works for, or anyparticipant of the main conference. The score computation, e.g., thetotal score, may be an average or a mean of all the scores for eachfactor computed. It may also be a score that is based on a formulaapplied to all the scores that the system, host, or another user of thesystem may use as a method to calculate the score. The total score mayalso be dynamic and updated in real-time based on current performance ina breakout room or based on changing of other factors that form thebasis of the score.

As depicted in FIG. 10 , topic relating to “Administrative Tasks,”receive a score of 24, while topics relating to “Technical Analysis,”“Design Input,” received a score of 73, “Product Testing,” received ascore of 74, “Employee Reviews,” received a score of 38, “ManagementTasks,” received a score of 29, and “Holiday Party Planning,” received ascore of 18.

In addition to scores by topic, a score relating to John’s engagementand discussion 740 during a breakout session is also provided. In thisembodiment, John received an engagement discussion score or 78.Likewise, John’s activity 1045 during a breakout session received ascore of 78. Although the table depicts John’s engagement 1040 andactivity 1045 scores in this table 1000, many other factors relating toJohn’s performance, interactions, and quality of discussion during abreakout room may also be measured.

The control circuitry 504 may access the scores and provide a pluralityof breakout room placement options. In one embodiment, the controlcircuitry may also provide the scores to an AI algorithm such that thescores can be analyzed for a deeper understanding of the participant andtheir behavior.

For example, the control circuitry 504 may access the scores and providethem to the AI algorithm to determine John’s performance as it relatesto administrative and managerial tasks. As it can be seen from table1000, John received a score of 24 for administrative tasks, a score of38 for employee reviews, a score of 29 for management tasks, and a scoreof 18 for holiday party planning. The AI Algorithm may analyze thesescores and provide recommendations that will aid the system or the hostin determining whether or not to assign John to a breakout room whichhas topics relating to administrative and managerial tasks. In thisembodiment, since John received low scores, e.g., 24, 38, 29, and 18,all of them below 30, the AI algorithm may provide a deeperunderstanding that John is not the best person to be placed ondiscussions relating to such topics.

In another example, the control circuitry 504 may access the scores andprovide them to the AI algorithm to determine John’s performance as itrelates to technical and more complex tasks. As it can be seen fromtable 1000, John received a score of 81 for technical analysis, 73 fordesign input, and 74 for product testing. The AI Algorithm may analyzethese scores and provide recommendations that will aid the system or thehost in determining whether to assign John to a breakout room which hastechnical and complex topics that may require a higher score. In thisembodiment, since John received high scores, e.g., 81, 73, and 74 fortechnical, design, and complex topics, the AI algorithm may provide adeeper understanding that John is better on the technical side andshould be used in discussions relating to such technical and complextopics.

In one embodiment, the scores provided for engagement and discussions1040 and activity during discussions 1045 may be an overall scoreirrespective of the context or the topic in which John is involved. Inanother embodiment the engagement and activity score may differ based onthe context and the topic in which John may be involved. For example,John may not be as engaging in topics relating to administrative tasksas he would be in a discussion involving technical analysis. The AIalgorithm may be used in dissecting the score and the related data in avariety of ways to provide a plurality of insights into John’s breakoutor main conference performance.

In one embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 10 , any one of the contexts orscores may be selected to obtain a deeper analysis and breakdown ofscores. For example, the host or a moderator of the main conferencesession or the breakout session may select using a user interface one ofthe contacts or score categories. In this embodiment, the host isselecting “Technical Analysis” using their user interface, which mayhave a touch screen. When selected, the control circuitry 504 may causethe display of a further breakdown as described in FIG. 11 below.

FIG. 11 is a table of a breakdown of scores for a specific topic ofbreakout session, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Table 1100 provides a deeper understanding of John’s performancerelating a topic, such as “Technical Analysis” 1010. The breakdown ofscores may be obtained by the control circuitry engaging one or moredatabases, such as the databases 477-484 as depicted in FIG. 4 andanalyzing the overall score into further breakdown based on some of thefactors listed in FIG. 11 . The breakdown of the overall score, whichwas 81 for technical analysis, may be computed based on the John’sperformance specifically in relation to topics relating to technicalanalysis. The breakdown of the score may be dynamic and it may changebased on the underlying factors used in computing them.

As depicted in FIG. 10 , John received a score of 81 with respect tospeaking time, a score of 73 with respect to engagement, a score of 74with respect to sharing of documents, a score of 38 with respect toproviding action items, a score of 29 with respect to ability to resolveissues, a score of 64 with respect to bringing forth fresh ideas andcreativity, and a score of 21 with respect to responding to criticism.

The control circuitry 504 may access the further breakdown of the scoresand provide a plurality of options to use the breakdown scores in makingconference and breakout room assignments and decisions. In oneembodiment, the control circuitry may provide the breakdown of scores toan AI algorithm such that the breakdown can be dissected and analyzedfor a deeper understanding of John’s performance specific to topicsrelating to technical analysis.

For example, the control circuitry 504 may access the breakdown ofscores and provide them to the AI algorithm to determine John’sperformance as it relates to dealing with conflicts, criticism, orassigning tasks to others. As it can be seen in table 1100, Johnreceived a score of 38 for providing action items 1120, a score of 29for ability to resolve issues 1125 and the score of 21 for responding tocriticism 1135. The AI Algorithm may analyze these scores and providerecommendations that will aid the system or the host in determiningwhether John is the best person in dealing with such situations. In thisembodiment, since John received low scores, e.g., 38, 29, and 21, all ofthem below 40, the AI algorithm may provide a deeper understanding thatJohn is not the best person to be placed in situations that may have aconflict or when he is required to assign tasks to others. Since Johnreceived high scores of 81 for speaking time 74 for sharing documentsetc., the AI algorithm may provide a suggestion that John is moresuitable for engaging in discussions relating to technical analysis andsharing his own work through documents. The AI algorithm may be used inother ways to dissect the breakdown of scores and the underlying relateddata and provide a deeper understanding of John’s performance. A querymay also be sent for the AI algorithm to dissect the data in thepreferred manner, e.g., how does John perform when a short deadline isprovided.

FIG. 12 is a table of scores based on a participant’s performance whenin presence of another participant in the breakout session, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. The scores, as theyrelate to the presence of another participant e.g., a secondparticipant, in the same conference / breakout session, may be computedby the control circuitry by accessing and engaging one or moredatabases, such as the databases 477-484 as depicted in FIG. 4 . Thescore may be dynamic and based on changes to the underlying factors usedin computing the score.

As depicted in FIG. 12 , John received a score of 88 when anotherparticipant, Mary, was present in the same conference/breakout sessionin which John participated. Likewise, John received a score of 79 whenparticipant Michael was present in the same conference/breakout session,a score of 42 when participant Robert was present in the sameconference/breakout session, a score of 45 when any participant from thelab scheduling department were present in the same conference/breakoutsession, and a score of 91 when participant Solu, the CEO of thecompany, was present in the same conference/breakout session.

In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may access the scores asthey relate to John’s performance in the presence of each participant inthe main conference session, or as it relates to participants that aretargeted to be in a breakout session with John, to the AI algorithm todetermine John’s performance and potential for a successful andproductive meeting when the other participant is in the same breakoutroom.

In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may provide John - Maryscore, a score that determines John’s performance when Mary is present,to the AI algorithm for further analysis. This score may have beencomputed by the control circuitry 504 by accessing databases 477-484 andextracting data relating to John’s past performances when Mary waspresent in the same conference/breakout room as John. In anotherembodiment, if John has never been in the same room as Mary in the past,the AI algorithm may determine certain attributes of John and certainattributes of Mary and predict John where John may be paired with Mary’sscore to indicate his likely performance when and if John would be inthe same conference/breakout room as Mary.

As depicted in Table 1200, John received a score of 88 when in presenceof Mary. The control circuitry 504 may execute the AI algorithm based onthe score to obtain further insights into John’s performance when inpresence of Mary. In one embodiment, the results of the AI analysis maybe that John works well with Mary and performs at a high level. As such,a recommendation may be provided by the control circuitry that in futureconference sessions John may be paired with Mary for a high performanceor that no conflict or issues seem to be apparent.

Likewise, the control circuitry 504 may execute the AI algorithm basedon the score “79” to obtain further insights into John’s performancewhen in presence of Michael. In one embodiment, the results from AIanalysis may indicate that John works well with Michael and performs ata high level.

In yet another embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may execute the AIalgorithm based on the score to obtain further insights into John’sperformance when in presence of Robert. As depicted, John received ascore of “42” 920 when in presence of Robert. As such, the AI analysismay result in determining that John does not work well with Robert anddoes not perform at a high level in Robert’s presence. As such, arecommendation may be provided by the control circuitry that in futureconference sessions John should not be paired with Michal and doing somay result in a lower performance. The control circuitry may also engagethe machine learning (ML) algorithm to determine if the low scorereceived by John when in presence of Robert is an outlier or if it formsa consistent pattern. In other words, the control circuitry maydetermine, based on historical data, if there were other contributingfactors for John to receive a low score when in presence of Robertrather than the low score being attributed directly to the presence ofRobert. Based on the ML data, a determination may be made if John’s lowscore was an outlier or a consistent pattern when in presence of Robert.

As depicted in Table 1200, John received a score of 45 when in presenceof any employee from the lab scheduling department. In addition todetermining John’s performance in presence of a popular individual one,the control circuitry 504, executing ML or AI algorithms, may alsodetermine John’s performance in relation to presence of any employee ofthe company from a specific department. As such, a score may be computedfor John in relation to another participant as well as John in relationto a department for which the other participant works for to determineif any low or high score is attributed to the other participant or tothe department as a whole. For example, in this embodiment, the controlcircuitry 504 may execute the AI algorithm based on the score “45” intable 1200 that is in relation to John’s performance when any employeefrom the lab test scheduling department is in the same conferencesession as John. In one embodiment, the results of the AI analysis maybe that John does not work well with any employee from the lab testingschedule department. A deeper analysis may reveal that the cause of thelow score is due to John routinely performing lab testing and the labtesting department employees not being able to schedule John’s testswithin his deadlines.

In yet another embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may execute the AIalgorithm based on the score to obtain further insights into John’sperformance when in presence of Solu, the CEO of the company. Asdepicted, John received a score of “91” 1230 when in presence of Solu.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a geographic analyzer that analysesparticipant’s performance when in presence of another participant from adifferent country in the breakout session, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. The control circuity 504 may invoke thegeographic analyzer 1300 if it determines that the plurality ofparticipants in the same main conference session or the breakout sessionmay be from different countries and geographical regions. Thegeographical analyzer 1300 determines if a participant, such as John,works well with people from a certain country and provides a performancescore for John when in presence of another participant from anothercountry.

In one embodiment, John, who may be located in India, may have a highscore when working with other participants from Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia,China and Brazil. On the other hand, John may have a low score whenworking with participants from United States, United Kingdom, orAustralia. The control circuitry 504 may access such country-by-countrydata and provide it to the AI algorithm for further analysis.

In one embodiment, since John received higher scores with countriesneighboring India, such as Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, China, and lowerscores with countries that are far away, such as United States, UnitedKingdom, and Australia, the AI analysis may result in determining thatJohn works best when he is working with countries that are close to histime zone such that he doesn’t have to be in conference sessions in thelate or early hours.

In another embodiment, since John may have received a high score whenworking with a participant from Brazil, which is also far away fromIndia and in a different time zone that is more than 8 hours difference,the AI analysis may result in determining that it is not a time zoneissue but potentially an issue of an English speaking country with adifferent accent that may be harder for John to understand that is thecause of his lower score when it comes to United States, United Kingdom,and Australia. Although the time zone and different accent examples areprovided, the AI algorithm may be used to further dissect John’sperformance in relation to other participants that are from differentcountries and the control circuitry may use the results of the analysisto provide recommendations for future conference and breakout sessions.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a knowledge module that accesses aplurality of sources and systems to generate a knowledge profile of aparticipant in the breakout session, in accordance with some embodimentsof the disclosure. In one embodiment, the score can be computed based ona plurality of factors that relate to a participant’s expertise andknowledge. Such scores may be relevant and used by the control circuitry504 in determining whether a participant has the adequate knowledge andexpertise to productively contribute to a topic of the breakout room,which may that requires a certain level of knowledge and expertise.

In another embodiment, the control circuit may have also computed acomplexity score for certain topics. If the participant’s score does notmeet the minimum score required by the topic, then the control circuitry504 may determine that the participant is not qualified to engage inconversations relating to the complex topic and as such not assign theparticipant to a breakout room in which the topic will be discussed.

In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may invoke the knowledge /expertise module 1400. The knowledge / expertise module 1400 may store aprofile 1405 of the participant in the storge, such as the storagedescribed in FIGS. 3 and 5 .

The profile may be generated by the participant, the system, or anemployee of a company, such as someone from the HR department. Inanother embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may utilize ML and AIalgorithms to obtain data and automatically populate the profile. Forexample, if a participant has discussed a topic in previous meetings oroffered their opinion on a certain topic, the machine learning algorithmmay be fed such prior meeting data to analyze and detect a pattern. Thecontrol circuity may then populate the profile of the participant toindicate that the participant is knowledgeable on the previouslydiscussed topic. In another embodiment, data from previous meetings,emails, chat sessions, and other information exchange, may be fed intoan AI algorithm to analyze and predict the participants areas ofstrength and knowledge, and the control circuitry 504 may use such datato populate the participant’s profile. The profile 1405 may also includeskills, accolades, achievements, workplace reviews, and otherinformation with respect to the participant’s knowledge and skill. Thecontrol circuitry 504 may use such information and computing a score forthe participant.

In another embodiment, as depicted in block 1410, human resources (HR)systems and databases may include the participant’s history that can beaccessed by the control circuitry 504 to determine the knowledge andexpertise of the participant. For example, the HR systems may includethe participant’s employment history, workplace reviews, departmentsthat the employee has worked for previously, any positive and negativefeedback from other employees in the company that relate to theparticipant, and other information through which the employee’s skill,expertise, knowledge, and know-how can be assessed.

One example of determining the participant’s skill and knowledge mayinclude accessing an HR system. If a participant has previously worked,assisted for a certain time, or perform a project, for the environmentaltesting department, although the participant’s job title, list ofexpertise, or prior discussions may not include any mention ofenvironmental testing, the HR system may store such data for employmentrecords purposes. When a topic for the breakout room includesenvironmental testing, the control circuitry 504 may access the HRsystem database to learn of the participant’s involvement and use suchinformation in determining whether the participant should be included inthe breakout session in which environmental testing will be discussed.The control circuitry 504 may use such information in computing a scorefor the participant.

The control circuitry 504 may also access prior conference history 1415,email history 1420, and previously shared documents 1425 by theparticipant whether in prior meetings emails or other context todetermine the participant’s knowledge, expertise, and skill level. Suchinformation may be analyzed by the control circuitry 504 or fed into theML and AI algorithms and the output of the analysis from the algorithmsmay be used to determine the participants knowledge or expertise leveland use such information in computing a score for the participant.

In another embodiment, as depicted in block 1430, social mediadatabases, such as LinkedIn®, Facebook®, Instagram®, Twitter® and othersmay be accessed by the control circuitry 504. The participant may allowauthorized access to the control circuitry 504 to access the socialmedia sites and databases that are associated with the participant. Inone embodiment, the control circuitry may access LinkedIn® to determinethe participants skill sets, degrees, any postings made by theparticipant on the LinkedIn® platform, and any comments directed at theparticipant by other LinkedIn® members. The control circuitry may alsoaccess comments posted by the participant on another individual’s poston a social media platform. Likewise, the control circuitry may obtaindata associated with the participant on other social media websites,including any posts, articles, comments either posted by the participantor directed at the participant. The social media data, such as thesocial media feed, posts, comments, likes, and dislikes, may be providedto the ML and AI algorithms for analysis. The control circuitry 504 mayuse the social media data analyzed results from the ML and AI algorithmsto compute a score for the participant.

In another embodiment, as depicted in block 1435, the control circuitry504 may conduct a survey or a poll to receive comments and scores fromother employees and participants that have worked previously with theparticipant. The poll or survey may seek input from others to rate theparticipant in their skill set and their performance in main conferenceor breakout session. One example of results from such a poll or surveyis depicted in FIG. 15 . In one embodiment, the poll shows that Robert1310 rated a participant Michael’s performance with a score of 78, whileSusan 1520 rated Michael’s performance with a score of 75, Jack 1530rated Michael’s performance with a score of 91, Mary 1540 ratedMichael’s performance with the score of 67, and Stephan 1550 ratedMichael’s performance with a score of 49. The control circuitry 504 mayanalyze these scores and use them in determining an overall score forMichael. The score, which may be associated with Michael’s knowledge andexpertise, may be used, as mentioned earlier, in determining whetherMichael might be fit to discuss a topic that requires a certainknowledge score.

In another embodiment, the scores may also provide an insight intowhether a particular individual works well with Michael. For example,the control circuitry 504, in conjunction with ML and AI algorithms, maydetermine that Jack, who gave Michael a score of 91, works well withMichael and when an opportunity presents to pair Michael with Jack, itwould likely result in a good performance. In another example, thecontrol circuitry 504, in conjunction with ML and AI algorithms, maydetermine that Stephan, who gave Michael a score of 49, will likely notwork well with Michael. The control circuitry 504 may utilize the MLalgorithm to determine if Jack and Stephan’s scores can be attributed totheir working relationship with Michael and form a pattern or if it is asingle occurrence in which such a score was given. The ML algorithm maydetect patterns to determine if the same individuals gave a score toMichael in previous meetings that is in line with the currents score orif this is an outlier. Such determinations made allow the controlcircuitry 504 to determine whether Michael would work well with theindividual who gave him the score in the poll/survey. The controlcircuitry 504 may use the polling/survey scores to compute a score forthe participant.

Referring back to FIG. 14 , at block 1440, the control circuitry 504 mayanalyze but context close next history of the participant. In otherwords, the control circuitry 504 may use the ML algorithm to determineif the participant in prior conferences has kept their discussionclosely in context to the topic or if they had diverted from the topic.The control circuitry 504 may use the context closeness information tocompute a score for the participant.

In another embodiment, as depicted in block 1445, the control circuitrymay access third party sources, data, and citations to determine a skillset / knowledge score for the participant. For example, if theparticipant is a member of a technical forum, such as the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has spoken at the IEEEconferences or written papers, then accessing the IEEE system, thesystem may obtain relevant information to access the user’s knowledgeproficiency on the topic and generate a score of topic proficiency forthe participant.

As mentioned above, FIGS. 10-15 are some examples of factors used incomputing the user score at block 730 of FIG. 7 . The score is thencompared to determine if it meets the topic expertise score at block735, and if it does, then at block 745, the device associated with theuser that meets the score is assigned to the breakout room where thetopic is to be discussed. Such assignment, in one embodiment, may beautomatic and without user intervention.

At blocks 750 and 755, the breakout room may be monitored andreconfigured as will be described in further detail in FIGS. 18-32 .

Although the process of FIG. 7 describes a few factors for calculatingscore and using the score to assign participants to a breakout room, theembodiments are not so limited and other factors may also be consideredin scoring and assigning participants. For example, assignments may bebased on diversity of experience, background, style of discussion,engagement, race, ethnicity and other factors to balance the experienceand diversity in a breakout room. In some instances, assignments may bemade to sure there is adequate gender representation in a breakout roomdepending on the topic of discussion or to ensure various perspectivesare discussed for the topic. A breakout room in which a topic such asmarketing of a product to a mass audience is to be discussed may includeparticipants from different walks of life that are representative of thetarget audience that will be buying the product.

In another embodiment, if the user expertise score does not meet thetopic threshold, then the user may not be assigned to the topic andother alternative options, such as assigning the user to a differenttopic or keeping them in the main conference room, may be exercised.

FIG. 16 is block diagram of assigning participants of the mainconference session to a breakout session, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the control circuitry504 may select participants from a main conference session based ontheir scores and assign them to different breakout conferences, eachwith a different designated topic of discussion. As depicted,participants of the main conference session have been assigned tobreakout conferences BR1-BR4.

In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may compute a complexityscore for each topic to be discussed in the breakout room and assignparticipants from the main conference to the breakout room if theirscore meets or exceeds the complexity score for the topic. As depictedin FIG. 17 , the control circuitry 504 may invoke a participant analysismodule 1710, a complexity analyzer 1720, and a breakout room module1730. The participant analysis module 1710 may be used to analyze theparticipant’s score and store it in a database. A complexity analyzermay analyze the topic to be discussed and generate a complexity scorefor the topic. In one embodiment, the complexity score may be storedinto a complexity tier. The breakout role module may use the complexitytier for automatically creating breakout rooms as needed and generatingthe process to seamlessly move the participants from a main conferenceroom to the breakout room. In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504may associate the participant score with a complexity tier. The tiersmay be arranged in a sequential order ranging from low complexity tohigh complexity. If a participant qualifies for a particular tier, suchas tier 3, where tier 4 has a lower complexity score than tier 3, thenthe control circuitry 504 may automatically qualify the participant forall tiers that are lower than tier 3 in their complexity score. Thecomplexity scores in the complexity tier may be specific to the contextof the topic.

Referring back to FIG. 16 , in one embodiment, all the participants ofthe main conference may be assigned to a breakout conference room, andin another embodiment, some participants, such as participant 1410 maynot be assigned to any breakout conference room.

In one embodiment, once the breakout conference is completed, theindividuals from the breakout conference room will be seamlessly broughtback into the main conference session. In one embodiment, theparticipants in the breakout conference room may use their userinterface to indicate completion of the breakout conference, and thecontrol circuitry 504 receiving the completion signal may automaticallyintegrate them back into the main conference, wherein automatic refersto, in one embodiment, performing the function without userintervention. In another embodiment, the control circuitry 504 maydisplay an approve button on the screen of the participant in thebreakout conference, and upon selection of the approve button by theparticipant, the control circuitry 504 may integrate them back into themain conference.

FIG. 18 is a user interface depicting scores of participants in abreakout room and analyzing the scores using a room analytics engine, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment,once the participants have been moved into a breakout room, such asBreakout Room 1 depicted in the user interface of FIG. 18 , a roomanalytics engine can be used by a moderator, another individual, orsystem, to determine the breakdown of participant scores in the room.

As depicted, participant one (P1) of the breakout room has a score of67, participant two (P2) has a score of 61, participant three (P3) has ascore of 82, and participant four (P4) has a score of 77, with acombined total score of 287 for all the participants in the breakoutroom. In one embodiment, the system, moderator, or another user of thesystem, may desire for the participant’s score to be within a thresholdof a mean score. In another embodiment, the system, moderator, oranother user of the system, may desire for the participant scores to bewithin a certain percentage of each other or the leader of the breakoutsession. In yet another embodiment, the system, moderator, or anotheruser of the system, may desire for the participant highest participantscore and the lowest participant score to be within a percentage of eachother. Such percentages and thresholds may be predetermined either by auser or the system. The percentages and thresholds may also change asdesired. In one embodiment, such percentages and thresholds may be setto ensure that participants of roughly the same score are groupedtogether in a breakout room.

In one embodiment, the room analytics engine may provide a plurality oftools to a user of the system. The tools may be displayed on the userinterface of the electronic device associated with the user. The toolsmay allow the user to compute a standard deviation, mean score, lowestand highest score to calculate the difference, and allow the user to seta percentage spread between the scores of all users, such as the 35%spread indicated in the box. Other computational tools may also beprovided to the user. The user interface may also display a reconfigureoption allowing the user, such as the moderator, to move participants inand out of the breakout room in order to achieve the desired mean,standard deviation, spread or some other metric.

FIG. 19 is an example block diagram assignment of participants breakoutrooms and averaging across all breakout rooms, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the room analyticsengine of FIG. 18 may be used to assign participants to breakout roomsuch that the average score for the room is within a threshold of adesired number. As depicted, in one embodiment, a predetermined averagescore is set at 65 and the desire is to group participants in a breakoutroom that are within +/- 20% spread or threshold of the desired averagescore of 65. As such, the control circuitry 504 may analyze the scoresof all the users in the main conference room and distribute theparticipants into a plurality of breakout rooms such that an average of65 and threshold of +/- 20% can be maintained. The Breakout Rooms 1-4depicted in FIG. 19 is one example of a sample distribution by thecontrol circuitry 504 to maintain the predetermine average.

FIG. 20 is user interface depicting an initial breakout room assignmentand a reshuffled/reconfigured assignment to average scores across allbreakout rooms, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may have assignedparticipants to their respective breakout rooms, as depicted in BreakoutConference Room - Layout 1. In one embodiment, there may be a desire tobalance the score spread between participants within a single breakoutroom, as depicted in FIG. 18 , and in another embodiment, there may be adesire to balance the score spread across multiple breakout rooms. As itcurrently stands in Layout 1, the total score of breakout room one is287, breakout room two is 251, and breakout room three is 235. Thedifference between the highest and the lowest total score (235 and 287)being greater than a 25% spread.

In one embodiment the system, moderator, or the user of the system, mayuse the user interface to change the percentage spread across allbreakout rooms such that each breakout room’s total score is within thepredefined percentage spread. In a scenario where a percentage spread ofless than 5% may be predetermined, the control circuitry may reshufflethe participants from one breakout room to another such that the totalscores across all breakout rooms have a less than 5% spread. In someinstances, the spread may be even tighter when a complex topic is beingdiscussed, e.g., 2%.

In one embodiment, in order to achieve a less than 5% spread, thecontrol circuitry 504 may move participant C3 from breakout room 3 tobreakout room 1, move participant C2 from breakout room 3 to breakoutroom 2, move participant B2 from breakout room 2 to breakout room 3, andmove participant A3 from breakout room 1 to breakout room 3. Based onthe reshuffle of participants between the breakout rooms, layout 2 mayresult in a total participant score of 252 for breakout room 1, 262 forbreakout room 2, and 259 for breakout room 3. As such the total scoresacross all three breakout rooms, i.e., 252, 262, and 259, are balancewith a less than 5% spread across the breakout rooms. In one embodiment,a smaller spread, such as under 5 or 10% spread, may be desired to keepall rooms equally balanced.

In one embodiment, the scores of each participant, such as the scoresdescribed above in relation to FIGS. 18-20 , may be provided to themoderator for making breakout room moderation decisions. In anotherembodiment, the scores may be hidden due to privacy reasons from themoderator and from other participants such that a participant score isnot disclosed. In such embodiment, other indicators may be used toreflect the participant’s performance. For example, color coding,shading, highlighting, or some other means of depicting theparticipant’s performance instead of revealing their exact score, suchas ranking them in a score bracket (between 50-75), or providing aletter grade, or showing another method of measuring them, such assatisfactory or needs improvement, may also be used. In anotherembodiment, the participant may have the choice whether to disclosetheir score. In yet another embodiment, only the HR department may keepthe actual scores.

FIG. 21 is user interface depicting participants in a breakout room, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In this embodiment,the user interface depicts four participants P1, P2, P3, and P4 in asingle breakout room. The user interface may also include a timer 2100that informs all the participants of the amount of time left in thebreakout room conference. The user interface may also include a progressbar 2110 that depicts the amount of progress made in the breakout room.

FIG. 22A is a block diagram of a plurality of participants in a breakoutroom and their voice signals, in accordance with some embodiments andFIG. 22B is a table of voice signal received over a time period fromparticipants in a breakout room, in accordance with some embodiments.

In one embodiment, FIGS. 22A and 22B depict a situation when a higherdecibel level is detected in a breakout room. The higher decibels may beassociated with a first participant speaking over a second participantthereby interrupting the second participant. As shown in FIG. 22A, aplurality of participants P1- P4 may be attending a breakout conferencesession. The control circuitry 504 may monitor each participant’s speechand associated decibel level and calculate an average decibel level forthe conferencing session. As shown, a voice signal 2210 is captured forparticipant P1, a voice signal 2220 is captured for participant P2, anda voice signal 2230 is captured for a participant P3. As depicted,participant P4 may not have spoken during the breakout conferencesession and as such no voice signal has been captured.

FIG. 22B is a table that depicts a time at which each voice signal wascaptured, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Asdepicted, participant P1 may have spoken at time t = 1 and in responseto their speech, the control circuitry 504 may have captured the voicesignal 2220 and determined a decibel level associated with the voicesignal. If decibel level associated with participant P1′s voice signal2210 is taken as an average decibel level for the conversation, then, insome example embodiments, as depicted by voice signal 2220, participantP2 has a higher decibel level associated with their voice signal ascompared to the average decibel level. If P2′s decibel level exceeds theaverage decibel level by a threshold number, then the control circuitry504 may determine that P2′s decibel level is associated with aninterruption or a disagreement.

The overlapping voice signals of the participants speaking over eachother are analyzed by the control circuitry 504, such as by using an AIalgorithm, to determine if P2 or P3 have interrupted each other. If anyinterruption is detected, then the control circuitry may send an alertto the moderator informing them of the interruption. The controlcircuitry may also display an alert or a pop-up on the user interface ofeither all participants of the breakout session, or only those involvedin the interruption, to provide the participant who was interrupted achance to speak and complete the thought that was interrupted. Thecontrol circuitry may also display closed caption of some of the wordsuttered prior to the interruption to remind the interrupted participantof their thoughts.

In another embodiment, if the control circuitry 504 determines thatmultiple voice signals overlap each other, then a determination is madewhether the overlapping voice signals are associated with aninterruption or something else. For example, as shown in FIG. 22B, whichis a table of voice signals captured for each of the participants P1-P4in FIG. 22A, at time t = 2, participants P2 and P3 have overlappingvoice signals 2260. If the control circuitry 504 determines that theoverlapping voice signal 2260 is associated with an interruption, thenan alert and/or a reminder for the interrupted participant to speak maybe provided. The reminder may also be in form of an invitation for theparticipant to interact or engage in the breakout session.

FIG. 23 is user interface depicting a message received by participantsin a breakout room, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. As described earlier in context of FIG. 22 , when anoverlapping signal is detected, the control circuitry 504 may send amessage, such as message 2310, to either all the participants of thebreakout room, or only two the participants involved in theinterruption.

In one embodiment, the user interface 2300 may also display othermeeting tools 2320 that can be used by the participants in the breakoutroom. For example, if an interruption is detected, the control circuitry504 may cause to display, a “Send Message to Moderator” or “RequestModerator” button that can be selected by any of the participants in thebreakout room to send/transmit a message to the moderator informing themoderator of the interruption. The button selection may also send arequest to the moderator to join the breakout room. The controlcircuitry 504 may also cause to display other meeting/conferencing toolsthat may allow the participants to request more time for the breakoutsession, send a message to main conference session, whether due to aninterruption or otherwise.

FIG. 24 is an example user interface displayed to a moderator, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In addition tosending a message on the participant’s user interface when aninterruption occurs, the control circuitry 504 may also cause a message,such as message 2410, to display on the moderator’s user interface 2400.The moderator may decide to send/transmit a message in response to thebreakout room to be displayed on the participant’s user interface ordecide to enter the breakout room. That control circuitry 504 may alsodisplay additional meeting tools 2420 on the moderator’s user interfacesuch that the moderator can analyze the room health, reconfigureparticipants in the breakout room, add or delete a participant, and/orgenerate a progress graph that shows the progress being made within thebreakout room.

FIG. 25 depicts an example user interface for a moderator to assign andshuffle participants in a breakout room, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the moderator’s userinterface may include tools to select a participant and reassign them toa different room. In this embodiment, the moderator may use their mouseor tap on a touch screen and select a participant and reassign them to adifferent breakout room.

In another embodiment, the moderator’s user interface may include toolsto add or delete a participant to a breakout room. The participant maybe added either from another breakout room or from the main conferencesession.

In another embodiment, the moderator’s user interface may include toolsto select a breakout room for reassignment. For example, the moderatormay decide to reassign the breakout room with a different topic anddifferent set of participants.

In another embodiment, the moderator’s user interface may include toolsto review participant analytics. These include the performance of eachparticipant during the breakout room. The analytics may also includeparticipant’s score, prior history in conference rooms, participant’sskill sets, and other participant data relevant to the topic or thebreakout room.

In another embodiment, the moderator’s user interface may include areassignment and success prediction tool. For example, when areassignment and success prediction tool is activated, the controlcircuitry 504 may invoke ML and AI algorithms to analyze historical datainvolving the participant and determine whether the participant in thecurrent breakout room may perform successfully. In one embodiment, thecontrol circuitry 504, by using the ML and AI algorithms to analyzeparticipant historical data, may determine that the current participantdoes not work well with a second participant in the breakout room, andas such may predict a lower percentage of success based on suchhistorical data.

In another embodiment, the moderator’s user interface may include toolsto determine reassignments. In this embodiment the system may analyzedata from all breakout rooms and provide suggestions for reassignments.The moderator may also select a “review historical data” button and bydoing so, the control circuitry 504 may display prior performance dataof the participant from other conference sessions.

FIG. 26 is user interface for a moderator to merge, split, and performbreakout room modifications, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. In one embodiment, the moderator may use displayedconference management tools to merge rooms or split rooms, add or deleterooms, change room schedule, or generate a sidebar room.

If the moderator or the system detects interruptions or disputes in abreakout room, or the text that the graph depicting the breakout roomhealth is going in a negative direction, then the moderate may select a“generate sidebar room” to have a 1-on-1 discussion with the participantof the breakout room, such as with a participant that is causing adisruption.

FIG. 27 is a chart displayed on an interface showing the amount of timeand timestamps at which participants of a breakout room were speaking,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In one embodimentthe control circuitry 504 may determine which participant spoke duringthe breakup conference and the duration of their speech. The control iscircuitry may use such data to display a timing chart, such as thetiming chart 2700, that represents the amount of time and timestamps atwhich each participant spoke during the breakout conference.

In one embodiment, the timing chart 2700 may give an insight into theperformance of each participant and their engagement during the breakoutsession. For example, participant D1 spoke for 29 minutes during thebreakout session while participant D2 spoke for 20 minutes, participantD3 spoke for 23 minutes, and participant D4 spoke for four minutes. Thedata relating to participant’s engagement during the breakout sessionmay be used by control circuitry 504 to compute or adjust theparticipant’s score.

In another embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may execute the AIalgorithm to analyze the data from the timing graph 2700. The AIalgorithm may we used to obtain deeper insights into the performanceduring the breakout session. For example, the analysis performed by theAI algorithm may indicate that D4′s performance was on the lower end ofthe spectrum as compared to other participants in the breakout roombecause every time D4 spoke, D3 interrupted D4, such as at 2710 and 2720which may have led to D4′s lower performance. Further insights may beprovided by the control circuitry 504 based on the analysis performed byusing the AI algorithm which may help determine whether D4 should bepaired with D3 in the future in the same conference room.

FIG. 28 is flowchart of a process for monitoring a breakout room andcharting the progress of discussion in the breakout room, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, process 2800determines whether discussion within the breakout room is within thecontext of the topic that was identified for the breakout room. Suchinsight is useful to a moderator of the room to determine whether anycorrective actions are required, for example, to bring the discussionwithin the breakout room back into the context of the topic.

In one embodiment, the process begins at block 2810. The controlcircuitry 504 determines a set of keywords that are related to the topicdesignated for discussion in the breakout room.

At block 2820, the control circuitry 504 monitors the discussions withinthe breakout room and extract keywords from the discussions. Thesekeywords may be extracted from spoken dialogue as well as any chat thatwas entered during the breakout session between the participants. Thecontrol circuitry may also use natural language processing (NLP) systemsto look for keywords like topic, area, agenda, or keywords within atopic.

At block 2820, the control circuitry 504 determines whether the keywordsextracted from the dialogue within the breakout room relate to thekeywords associated with the topic designated for discussion in thebreakout room. In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504, may use theAI algorithm to determine if the keywords from the participant’sdialogue are within context of the topic of discussion.

If a determination is made at block 2820 that the keywords are notwithin the context of the designated topic for the breakout room, thenat block 2830, the control circuitry 504 may determine correctiveactions for bringing the discussion back within the context of thetopic. Such corrective actions may include, seeking moderator input,inviting the moderator to join the breakout room and provide theirinput, providing alerts which may be displayed on the participant’s userinterface that request the participants to bring the conversation backwithin context of the designated topic.

In addition to determining corrective actions, the control circuitry 504may also plot a downward movement in a graph to indicate that thediscussions in the breakout room are not progressing well and swayingaway from the context of the designated topic.

If a determination is made at block 2820 but the keywords extracted fromthe discussion relate to the topic, then another discussion may be madeat block 2820 to determine whether the keywords are acceptable. Forexample, keywords that relate to profanity, rude or harsh language,accusatory language, or anything that would be outside the HR policiesfor the company, would not be acceptable.

If a determination is made that the keywords are acceptable, then thecontrol circuitry 504 may plot the data on the graph as an upwardmovement to indicate that progress is being made and the discussion isstaying within the context of the topic designated for the breakoutroom. The control circuitry 504 will also plot the data if the keywordsare not acceptable and indicate downward or negative movement in thegraph. The monitoring in the room may continue and the process 2800would move to block 2820 and repeat itself until the end of the breakoutsession.

In addition to monitoring speaking time, such as in FIG. 27 , andkeeping the discussion with the assign topic, such as in FIG. 28 , inone embodiment, other indicators may also be monitored to chart theprogress of discussion in the breakout room. For example, otherindicators may include engagement/interaction within participants, suchas through camera on/off, microphone on/off, screen sharing activity,other input device activity.

FIG. 29 is graph depicting progression of discussion in the breakoutroom with respect to a context, in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure. In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may plot agraph, such as graph 2900, to show the progress being made within abreakout room. In one embodiment, the progress may be measured by thekeywords uttered by the participants and a determination whether thekeywords are within the context of the topic. In another embodiment,progress may be determined based on completion of subtopics there are tobe discussed in the breakout room. In another embodiment, progress maybe measured by participants closing action items or moving forward indetermining a plan of action. On the flip side, lack of progress orunproductivity in the breakout conference may be measured byparticipants interrupting each other, swaying away from the context ofthe topic, or not completing discussion of subtopics within the allottedtime. Other measures of progress may also be defined by the users of thesystem.

In one embodiment, for every data point in which progress is made, thecontrol circuitry 504 may chart it as an upward movement in the graph.Likewise, for every data point in which progress is not made, thecontrol circuitry 504 may chart it as a negative movement in the graph.

In one embodiment, when a sharp increase or decreases in the graphoccurs, the control circuitry 504 may alert the moderator of the room ofthe sharp increase or decrease. The control circuitry 504 may alsodetermine the reason behind the sharp increase or decrease. For example,at 2910, that decrease may have been caused due to a participantinterrupting another participant on a continuous basis or theparticipant swaying away or getting distracted from the designatedtopic. There may also be other reasons for the drastic negative movementof the graph, such as a strong disagreement within another participant.

In one embodiment, if the sharp increase or decrease is associated witha particular participant, the control circuitry 504 may take suchincreases and decreases caused by the participant into account andrecalculate the participants score. For example, if a participant wasinvolved in the sudden increase at 2920 and 2930, the control circuitry504 may detect a pattern where the participant’s activity is associatedwith high productivity or increase in performance at the meeting. Assuch, the participant’s score may be elevated to a higher number.

FIG. 30 is user interface for a moderator to monitor a plurality ofbreakout rooms, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.In one embodiment, the control circuitry 504 may cause a display ofprogress graphs from all breakout rooms on the display of themoderator’s user interface 3000. As depicted in FIG. 30 , a graphdisplayed in an application may provide a quick snapshot of howdiscussions in each breakout room are progressing. For example,discussions in breakout room 1 and breakout room 4 seem to beprogressing in a negative and downward manner while discussions inbreakout room 2 and breakout room 3 seem to be progressing in a positiveand upward manner. The quick snapshot may allow a moderate to allocatetheir time to the breakout rooms by prioritizing spending time in abreakout room in which needs the moderator’s help the most, i.e., abreakout room which is progressing in a negative and downward manner asdepicted by its graph.

FIG. 31 is flowchart of a process for generating a schedule for themoderator for attending breakout sessions, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the control circuitry504 at block 3110 may access a plurality of breakout room sessions, suchas the breakout room sessions displayed in FIG. 30 .

At block 3120, the control circuitry 504 may generate a room healthscore for each breakout room. The room health score may be associatedwith the upward or downward movement of progress being made in thebreakout room. The room health score may be dynamic and may change inreal-time to reflect the most current state of progress in the breakoutroom. In addition to the room health score, the control circuitry 504may also plot a graph that is indicative of the room health, as depictedin FIG. 30 .

At block 3130, the control circuitry 504 may generate a moderatorschedule based on the breakout room health score or breakout room healthgraph. One such example moderator schedule is displayed in FIG. 32 .

At block 3140, the control circuitry 504 may decide whether the roomhealth score, or the graph that represents the room health, exceeds anacceleration threshold. In one embodiment, exceeding an accelerationthreshold relates to a sudden spike in the graph or the room healthscore either in a positive or in a negative direction, such as the spikedisplayed in 2910, 2920, and 2930 of FIG. 29 . In response todetermining that the breakout room had its score, or the associatedgraph exceed an acceleration threshold, then at block 3160, the controlcircuitry 504 may alert the moderator of such acceleration. The controlcircuitry 504 may also modify the moderator’s schedule at block 3170such that the moderator may enter the breakout room or prioritize entryto the breakout room that has exceeded the acceleration threshold in thenegative direction.

If a determination is made at block 3140 that either the room healthscore or the associated graph has not exceeded an accelerationthreshold, then at block 3150 the control circuitry 504 may display theschedule created at block 3130 and provide breakout room joining optionsto the moderator.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the above-mentioned embodiments may be embodied in acomputer program product that includes a computer-usable and/or-readable medium. For example, such a computer-usable medium may consistof a read-only memory device, such as a CD-ROM disk or conventional ROMdevice, or a random-access memory, such as a hard drive device or acomputer diskette, having a computer-readable program code storedthereon. It should also be understood that methods, techniques, andprocesses involved in the present disclosure may be executed usingprocessing circuitry.

The processes discussed above are intended to be illustrative and notlimiting. More generally, the above disclosure is meant to beillustrative and not limiting. Only the claims that follow are meant toset bounds as to what the present invention includes. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real-time. It should also be noted that the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

1. A method comprising: establishing a conference call established between a plurality of devices; determining a topic of discussion for a potential breakout session, of a plurality of potential breakout sessions, of the conference call; accessing a topic expertise score for the topic associated with each of the plurality of devices based on a profile associated with each of the plurality of devices; automatically selecting a subset of devices of the plurality of devices based on the topic expertise scores; and joining the selected subset of devices to the breakout session associated with the topic.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a complexity score for the topic of discussion; determining whether the topic expertise score for each of the plurality of devices meets the complexity score for the topic of discussion; and joining the selected subset of devices to the breakout session associated with the topic in response to determining that the topic expertise score meets the complexity score.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining a complexity score for a second topic of discussion for a potential second breakout session; determining whether the topic expertise score for each of the plurality of devices meets the complexity score for the second topic of discussion; and not joining a subset of devices, from the plurality of devices, to the breakout session that do not meet the complexity score.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a complexity score for each of a plurality of topics of discussion of the plurality of breakout sessions; determining a number of potential breakout rooms to create based on the complexity scores, wherein each topic associated with a complexity score that exceeds a threshold complexity score is automatically allocated its own breakout session.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the topic expertise score for a device is computed based on prior breakout room discussions associated with the device.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein a positive topic expertise score is attributed to the device if the prior discussion utilizes keywords uttered by a user of the device that are within a context of the topic of discussion for the breakout session and a negative topic expertise score is attributed to the device if the prior discussion utilizes keywords uttered by a user of the device that are not within a context of the topic of discussion for the breakout session.
 7. (canceled)
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the topic expertise score for a device is computed based on performance of a user associated with the device in prior breakout room discussions, wherein the performance is measured based on any one or more of speaking time, engagement, sharing of action items, completion of action items, sharing of documents, explanation of complex concepts, or ability to resolve issues in the prior breakout room discussions. 9-10. (canceled)
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: accessing a database that stores data relating to a user associated with the device; analyzing data from the database to extract data that relates to the topic of discussion for the breakout session; and populating the profile with the extracted data.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein, the database is selected from a group of databases that store information relating to social media, human resources, machine learning, artificial intelligence, conference documents, user performance reviews, user polls and surveys, emails, chats, SMS, articles, speeches, or postings.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the topic expertise score for a device is computed based on performance of a user associated with the device when in presence of a second user.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising, splitting a breakout session into one or more sub-breakout sessions and joining some of the devices from the breakout sessions to the sub-breakout sessions. 15-17. (canceled)
 18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a complexity score for each of a plurality of topics of discussion of the plurality of breakout sessions; and varying the complexity score based on a topic expertise score, wherein a higher topic score relates is associated with a higher complexity score and a lower topic score is associated with a lower complexity score.
 19. (canceled)
 20. A system comprising: communication circuitry configured to access a plurality of devices; and control circuitry configured to: establish a conference call established between a plurality of devices; determine a topic of discussion for a potential breakout session, of a plurality of potential breakout sessions, of the conference call; access a topic expertise score for the topic associated with each of the plurality of devices based on a profile associated with each of the plurality of devices; automatically select a subset of devices of the plurality of devices based on the topic expertise scores; and join the selected subset of devices to the breakout session associated with the topic.
 21. The system of claim 20, further comprising, the control circuitry configured to: determine a complexity score for the topic of discussion; determine whether the topic expertise score for each of the plurality of devices meets the complexity score for the topic of discussion; and join the selected subset of devices to the breakout session associated with the topic in response to determining that the topic expertise score meets the complexity score.
 22. The system of claim 20, further comprising, the control circuitry configured to: determine a complexity score for a second topic of discussion for a potential second breakout session; determine whether the topic expertise score for each of the plurality of devices meets the complexity score for the second topic of discussion; and not join a subset of devices, from the plurality of devices, to the breakout session that do not meet the complexity score.
 23. The system of claim 20, further comprising, the control circuitry configured to: determine a complexity score for each of a plurality of topics of discussion of the plurality of breakout sessions; determine a number of potential breakout rooms to create based on the complexity scores, wherein each topic associated with a complexity score that exceeds a threshold complexity score is automatically allocated its own breakout session.
 24. The system of claim 20, wherein the topic expertise score for a device is computed based on prior breakout room discussions associated with the device.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein a positive score is attributed to the device by the control circuitry if the prior discussion utilizes keywords uttered by a user of the device that are within a context of the topic of discussion for the breakout session and a negative topic expertise score is attributed to the device if the prior discussion utilizes keywords uttered by a user of the device that are not within a context of the topic of discussion for the breakout session.
 26. (canceled)
 27. The system of claim 20, wherein the topic expertise score for a device is computed by the control circuitry based on performance of a user associated with the device in prior breakout room discussions, wherein the performance is measured based on any one or more of speaking time, engagement, sharing of action items, completion of action items, sharing of documents, explanation of complex concepts, or ability to resolve issues in the prior breakout room discussions.
 28. The system of claim 20, wherein the topic expertise score for a device is computed by the control circuitry based on a survey or poll conducted by control circuitry, wherein positive feedback in the survey or poll is associated with a positive score attributed to the device and negative feedback in the survey or poll is associated with a negative score attributed to the device. 29-32. (canceled)
 33. The system of claim 20, further comprising, the control circuitry configured to split a breakout session into one or more sub-breakout sessions and automatically join some of the devices from the breakout sessions to the sub-breakout sessions. 34-38. (canceled) 